Securing RF Devices Amid Changing Technology

In the summer of 2015, the Federal Communications Commission opened a rulemaking proceeding with the goal of modernizing our approval process for radio devices to help us keep pace with the accelerating introduction of an ever-expanding breadth of wireless devices and products into the marketplace. But flexible use requires manufacturers, users, and the FCC to be even more vigilant in monitoring and preventing harmful interference -- and that’s where this new rulemaking proceeding plays a critical role. The rulemaking will establish for all device approvals a policy that the FCC has adopted for individual device categories over the last few years of requiring manufacturers to certify that a device cannot be modified by the installation of third party software in a way that causes those devices to create harmful interference.

Our 2014 guidance on the 5 GHz rules has prompted some question as to whether the intent of the current proceeding is to ban third party firmware installation on devices, particularly for Wi-Fi routers. To be clear, it is not: like the U-NII rules we adopted, the proposed rules do not require device makers to prevent installation of third party firmware or otherwise favor specific security solutions. The cornerstone of a flexible use spectrum regime is interference prevention and, this requires that devices operate within their authorized parameters. The proposed rules aim to create a certification process that recognizes this goal without creating burdensome red tape for manufacturers and headaches for users while also allowing innovative solutions by 3rd party vendors. It’s critical that we get the details right, and we look forward to fielding comments in the record this fall.