ANSI announces expanded scope of accreditation.
Press Release Summary:
In effort to facilitate cross-border trade of telecommunications products between Japan and U.S., ANSI has announced that the scope of its accreditation program for Telecommunications Certification Bodies was expanded to include recognition of telecommunications requirements issued by Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. Under this scope expansion, test results and product certification by U.S. TCBs for equipment will be accepted in Japan without need to re-test product.
Original Press Release:
ANSI Announces Expanded Scope as Accreditor of Telecommunication Certification Bodies
In an effort to facilitate cross-border trade of telecommunications products between Japan and the United States, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is pleased to announce that the scope of its accreditation program for Telecommunications Certification Bodies (TCBs) was recently expanded to include recognition of telecommunications requirements issued by Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
The announcement, issued on December 11, 2009, by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), expands the role assigned to ANSI in June 2000 in a precedent-setting arrangement announced by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), ANSI, and NIST. Under the arrangement, ANSI became a recognized accreditation body of product certifiers that test equipment such as radio transmitters, telephone handsets, and more to determine whether they satisfy FCC regulatory standards. Under this scope expansion, test results and product certification by U.S. TCBs for this equipment will be accepted in Japan without the need to re-test the product.
This scope expansion makes Japan the fifth country to be included in the scope of ANSI's TCB program, which already includes the United States, Canada, Singapore, and Hong Kong.
ANSI's approval as an accreditor is granted under the NIST-National Voluntary Conformity Assessment System Evaluation (NVCASE) program after an evaluation process that included on-site assessments, witness audits, and final recommendation. The NVCASE program helps federal agencies organize product certification and related activities for ensuring that products or processes comply with United States or foreign requirements included in trade agreements such as Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs).
NVCASE assesses accreditors based on the criteria of ISO/IEC 17011:2004, Conformity assessment - General requirements for accreditation bodies accrediting conformity assessment bodies, and the NVCASE Program Handbook, NISTIR 6440:2004 ED.
"For nearly ten years, ANSI has been proud to partner with NIST in the NVCASE program," said Lane Hallenbeck, ANSI vice president of accreditation services. "We are honored to be recognized once again with this latest expansion of our scope. Manufacturers who sell telecommunications equipment in the United States, Canada, Singapore, Hong Kong, and now Japan can submit their products for testing to ANSI-accredited TCBs and have the single set of test results and product certifications accepted across national borders."
