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SIEMIC provides the following services to access US Market:

Electrical Safety (UL Mark)
Electromagnetic Compatibility (FCC Part 15B, FCC Part 18)
Telecom Terminal Equipment (FCC Part 68)
Radio Frequency and Microwave Radios
Consultancy on the Routes to FCC Compliance
Markings and Documentation


ELECTRICAL SAFETY (UL Mark)

UL Listing Mark

This is one of the most common UL Marks. If a product carries this Mark, it means UL found that samples of this product met UL's safety requirements. These requirements are primarily based on UL's own published Standards for Safety. This type of Mark is seen commonly on appliances and computer equipment, furnaces and heaters, fuses, electrical panelboards, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, fire extinguishers and sprinkler systems, personal flotation devices like life jackets and life preservers, bullet resistant glass, and thousands of other products.

C-UL Listing Mark

This mark is applied to products for the Canadian market. The products with this type of mark have been evaluated to Canadian safety requirements, which may be somewhat different from U.S. safety requirements. You will see this type of Mark on appliances and computer equipment, vending machines, household burglar alarm systems, lighting fixtures, and many other types of products.

C-UL Listing Mark

UL introduced this new Listing Mark in early 1998. It indicates compliance with both Canadian and U.S. requirements. The Canada/U.S. UL Mark is optional. UL encourages those manufacturers with products certified for both countries to use this new, combined Mark, but they may continue using separate UL Marks for the United States and Canada.

ELECTROMAGNETIC COMPATIBILITY (EMC)

The body responsible for regulation of EMC emissions in the USA is the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The specific regulations are Part 15 (Radio Frequency Devices) and Part 18 (Industrial, Scientific and Medical Equipment).

All equipment liable to cause radio frequency interference is subject to the requirements of the FCC.

Part 15 covers devices, including digital devices, which use radio-frequency energy and may be intentional or unintentional radiators. Certain devices are exempted, including:

• Digital devices used exclusively as industrial, commercial or medical test equipment
• Digital devices used exclusively in an appliance, e.g. dishwasher, air conditioner, etc.
• Digital devices having a power consumption not exceeding 6 nW

Operation of an exempt device may be stopped by the FCC if the device is found to cause harmful interference. Operation may be resumed only after the condition causing the interference has been corrected.

Testing to Part 15 can be either to the limits given in the text of the regulations, or according to CISPR 22, with the following points applying:

• The limits CISPR 22 must be used in their entirety. You cannot mix results using CISPR 22 and Part 15.
• Additional testing above 1GHz must be carried out for equipment with clock frequencies above 108MHz.
• The test procedures must be those specified in Part 15 and ANSI C63.4, not those in CISPR 22.
• Testing must be carried out using the same mains power supply as used in the USA, i.e. 120V, 60Hz.

Subpart C of Part 15 covers intentional radiators and gives details of permitted frequency ranges and field strengths.

Part 18 covers industrial, scientific and medical equipment which emits radio frequency energy. Medical diathermy and ultrasonic equipment is also included.

Testing is required for conducted and radiated emissions. Note that other US authorities may have additional EMC requirements, e.g. medical equipment may require immunity testing for FDA requirements.

Testing to Part 18 is to the limits given in the text of the regulations.


TELECOM TERMINAL EQUIPMENT

Part 68 of the FCC rules (47 C.F.R. Part 68) governs the direct connection of Terminal Equipment (TE) to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), and to wireline carrier-owned facilities used to provide private line services. Part 68 also contains rules concerning Hearing Aid Compatibility and Volume Control (HAC/VC) for telephones, dialing frequency for automated dialing machines, source identification for fax transmissions, and technical criteria for inside wiring.

Many technical and administrative functions mandated by Part 68 have been privatized.

In December 1998, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted new rules to streamline its equipment authorization requirements by allowing Telecommunications Certification Bodies (TCBs) to certify equipment under Parts 2 and 68 of the Commission's Rules. The requirements for TCBs were specified in the Commission's Report and Order (R&O) in GEN Docket 98-68 (FCC 98-338), adopted on December 17, 1998. Under the Report and Order, TCBs are required to be accredited by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), or by a NIST recognized accreditor. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) applied to NIST for recognition as an accreditor of TCBs. NIST has evaluated ANSI's technical competency to carry out this accreditation function through onsite assessment and witness audits.

However, the FCC retains the responsibility to enforce Part 68 rules.

RADIO EQUIPMENT

FCC Regulations for radio equipment are listed as below:

FCC Part 11 – Emergency Alert System
FCC Part 15 - Radio frequency devices
FCC Part 24 – Personal Communication Device
FCC Part 20 – Commercial Mobile Radio Services
FCC Part 21 – Domestic Public Fixed Radio Service
FCC Part 22 – Public mobile services
FCC Part 23 – International Fixed Public Radiocommunication Service
FCC Part 25 – Satellite Communications
FCC Part 26 – General Wireless Communications Service
FCC Part 27 –Wireless Communications Service
FCC Part 90 – Private Land Mobile Radio Services
FCC Part 95 – Personal Radio Services
FCC Part 100 – Direct Broadcast Satellite Service
FCC Part 101 – Fixed Microwave Services

ROUTES TO FCC COMPLIANCE

1. Declaration of Conformity

Class B personal computers and their peripherals, and consumer ISM equipment (e.g. microwave ovens) are authorized by the Declaration of Conformity procedure or the Certification procedure. The manufacturer must:

• Get the product tested at a laboratory which has been accredited by A2LA or NAVLAP for EMC testing.
• Prepare a technical file
• Mark the product and place the requirement FCC notices in the user manual
• Prepare and sign a Declaration of Conformity

2. Certification

Certification is an alternative route for those products requiring a Declaration of Conformity. Certain other products (e.g. scanning receiver, intentional radiators) always require certification. The manufacturer must:

• Get the product tested at a laboratory which has been listed by the FCC
• Submit the test report, together with a proposed FCC ID Number to the FCC
• If approval is granted, mark the product with the FCC ID number and compliance statement, and place the required FCC notices in the user manual.

3. Verification

For products for which Certification or Declaration of Conformity are not required, verification is the necessary procedure. The manufacturer must:

• Get the product tested
• Retain the verification records for possible review by the FCC
• Mark the product with a compliance statement, and place the required FCC notices in the user manual

MARKINGS AND DOCUMENTATION

Part 15
For a Class A digital device or peripheral, the user instructions shall include the following or similar statement, placed in a prominent location in the text of the manual:

Note: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference when the equipment is operated in a commercial environment. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instruction manual, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely to cause harmful interference in which case the user will be required to correct the interference at his own expense.

Modifications not expressly approved by the manufacturer could void the user's authority to operate the equipment under FCC rules.

For a Class B digital device or peripheral, the user instructions shall include the following or similar statement, placed in a prominent location in the text of the manual:

Note: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:

• Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
• Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.
• Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected.
• Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.

Modifications not expressly approved by the manufacturer could void the user's authority to operate the equipment under FCC rules.

All other devices shall bear the following statement in a conspicuous location on the device:

This device complies with part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions:

1. This device may not cause harmful interference, and
2. This device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.

Products which has been approved by the Certification process, must also have a label showing the FCC ID number. The label must contain this information in the form:

FCC ID: XXXYYYYYYY

where XXX is the manufacturer's FCC grantee code and YYYYYYY is the equipment code, consisting of between 1 and 14 characters and may be a combination of capital letter, numbers and may include a dash (-).

Products which have been approved by the Declaration of Conformity procedure must display a label similar to the example given here.

In addition a declaration of the type shown below must be prepared, signed and kept with the product technical file.

SIEMIC provides compliance testing, certification and consultancy on FCC Compliance. To get an Estimate from SIEMIC, download SIEMIC International Approvals Questionnaires Form, complete the form with a list of products.