FCC Should Weigh Expanding E-Labels to More Wireless Devices, O'Rielly Says
The FCC should consider modernizing labeling requirements for devices that have to be certified by the agency and adopting more widespread e-labeling for Part 15 wireless devices, Commissioner Mike O'Rielly said in a Friday blog post. The Telecommunications Industry Association asked the FCC to allow voluntary e-labels, in a 2012 petition for rulemaking. CEA also has supported the move. The agency allows e-labeling a few device categories, including software-defined radios.
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"As these devices continue to shrink, their functionality continues to grow,” O'Rielly said (http://fcc.us/1hvh1f1). “To keep pace with these technological advancements,” it’s time the FCC considers modernizing labeling requirements, he wrote: E-labeling “could replace the current system of etched labels containing FCC certification information on the outside body of each electronic device. Instead, this information could be provided through software on device screens.”
E-labeling would cut costs for device manufacturers, O'Rielly said. “As devices have become smaller and more aesthetically appealing, etching the labels requires more design time and expensive equipment.” E-labels offer consumer more information than traditional FCC labels, including information on device warranties, recycling and trade-in opportunities, said O'Rielly. “E-labels can be updated remotely to address any inaccuracies, such as typographical errors.”
TIA sought the change in an August 2012 petition (http://bit.ly/QG5ks0). “E-labeling is a beneficial use of today’s technology that is fully consistent with consumer expectations and would foster the same transparency goals as the existing physical labeling requirements,” CEA said (http://bit.ly/QG54cB) in a 2012 filing. “E-labeling would be cost-effective, in keeping with the consumer electronics industry’s important ongoing environmental sustainability efforts, and fully consistent with the efforts of the Obama Administration to streamline regulatory burdens and promote innovation and flexibility."
Nokia said “current practices such as placing the regulatory markings on a label behind a removable battery or etching them on to the exterior of a device might meet the minimal technical requirements” of regulators for product certification. But “in reality they do very little to provide any useful information to consumers and only increase costs and manufacturing challenges for manufacturers,” Nokia commented in 2012 (http://bit.ly/1nui4zF).
TIA is pleased “O'Rielly recognizes the importance of this issue,” said Danielle Coffey, vice president-government affairs. “The FCC’s certification labs and the chairman’s office have also responded positively, which is encouraging.”