The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has cited a major technology retailer for marketing unapproved radio frequency (RF) devices.
According to a Citation and Order issued by the FCC, New York-based B&H Foto and Electronics marketed seven different RF devices. The specific devices listed in the Citation: 1) did not use a permanently attached antenna or an antenna that used a unique connector; 2) lacked an equipment authorization, as well as the appropriate labeling and user manual disclosures; and 3) operated in bands not authorized by the device’s certifications and/or were capable of operating outside of the FM frequency band.
B&H was originally notified of the issue in a Letter of Inquiry (LOI) issued in late 2020, following a referral received by the Commission’s Spectrum Enforcement Division. In its response to the LOI, the company acknowledged selling an RF device based on the device manufacturer’s false assertion that testing and authorization of the device was not required. Upon further investigation, B&H ceased marketing that device shortly after receiving the LOI.
B&H also disclosed that it had further investigated six additional RF devices that the company had been marketing. It ceased marketing two of the RF devices following communications with the devices’ manufacturers. But it supplied valid FCC Identifiers for four of the devices and continued to market those devices despite the fact that they were capable of operating outside of the FM frequency band.
In its Citation and Order, the FCC found that B&H violated FCC rules by marketing devices capable of operating outside the scope of their respective equipment authorizations. The Citation and Order gives the company 30 days to provide the FCC with written confirmation that it has ceased marketing the non-compliant RF devices in question.
Read the complete text of the FCC’s Citation and Order in connection with B&H.
