FCC Import Rules Should Exempt Devices Used for Advertising, Display, Commissioner Says
The Federal Communications Commission should “allow an exception to the import rules for purposes of device advertising and retail display preparation,” said FCC Commissioner Michael O'Rielly in a June 2 blog post. FCC rules prohibit imports of radiofrequency devices that haven't received agency authorization. “While there are exceptions for the very limited importation of devices for trade shows, testing and evaluation, and a few other specific uses, this doesn’t accommodate the large percentage of consumers that simply want to see and touch products prior to purchase,” O'Rielly said.
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Such import rule changes would help with the advertising and marketing of “highly-anticipated, high demand products,” he said. “Lacking the ability to import a sufficient quantity of new products, for display purposes only, adds to the enormity of the challenge,” O'Rielly said. “Furthermore, if the authorization is unexpectedly delayed, whole marketing and rollout campaigns can be put at risk or completely destroyed, threatening the success of a product for reasons that could be easily avoided.” A rule change would “give manufacturers and their partnering wireless providers the chance to have a very limited number of physical devices on hand in retail establishments that clearly couldn’t be displayed, used, or sold without completing the FCC device authorization process,” he said.
O'Rielly is aware of potential objections to relaxing import limits, he said. “Some may try to claim that any expansion of import exceptions reduces interest in and profitability for domestic manufacturing,” he said. “I am all for producing here in the U.S., but progress on this front isn’t going to happen overnight. And, the limited exception would have a negligible effect on overall device imports and would not in any way favor foreign manufacturing. Moreover, as a free trade advocate, I recognize that considerable manufacturing is happening in countries that are strong U.S. allies, and that consideration shouldn’t be overlooked.”