**DA 02-1438**

**June 19, 2002**

**Office of Engineering and Technology Announces a Transition Period
for**

**the Phantom Requirements of Supplement C to OET Bulletin 65**

This Public Notice sets forth a transition period requiring the
termination of the use of head phantoms other than that specified in
Edition 01-01 of Supplement C to OET Bulletin 65 for Specific Absorption
Rate (SAR) measurements. It also provides notice of updates of
recommended SAR measurement procedures.

In Public Notice DA 01-1557, dated June 29, 2001, which announced the
release of Edition 01‑01 of Supplement C to OET Bulletin 65, the
Commission noted that it intended to issue a future Public Notice
specifying a three-to-six-month transition period after which use of the
new standard head phantom recommended by IEEE Standards Coordinating
Committee 34 would become mandatory. We note that since the end of last
calendar year, the new standard head phantom has become commercially
available, and that most SAR testing laboratories have acquired the new
phantom and have already voluntarily begun using it for compliance
verification for the FCC equipment authorization program. We also note
that, in December, 2001, CTIA issued Revision 1.1 of its "Method of
Measurement for Radiated RF Power and Receiver Performance" for the CTIA
Certification Program, in which use of the new standard head phantom is
made mandatory after May 31, 2002.

For these reasons, we believe a three-month transition period is
adequate. Therefore, we will require that the new standard IEEE SCC 34
head phantom (the "SAM" phantom) be used for all SAR testing in any FCC
certification application submitted on or after September 15, 2002.

The Standards Coordinating Committee 34, Subcommittee 2, of the
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE
SCC-34/SC-2) has made additional revisions to its draft standard
(P-1528) on Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) measurement procedures since
the release of Supplement C 01-01. In the interim, this Public Notice
provides updated SAR measurement procedures recently recommended by the
SCC-34/SC-2 that will replace the current procedures described in
Supplement C. Applicants are encouraged to use these new procedures
immediately, and are required to use them beginning September 15, 2002.

It is currently indicated in Appendix D of Supplement C 01-01, in the
last paragraph of the section "Device Operating Next to a Person's Ear,"
that "If the SAR measured at the middle channel for each test
configuration (left, right, Cheek/Touch, Tilt/Ear, extended and
retracted) is at least 2.0 dB lower than the SAR limit, testing at the
high and low channels is optional for such test configuration(s)." The
SCC-34/SC-2 has revised its recommended SAR measurement procedures from
2.0 dB to 3.0 dB. To ensure the most up-to-date procedures recommended
by the experts are used for the FCC equipment authorization process, all
SAR test results filed with the Commission after September 15, 2002 must
follow the 3.0 dB requirement now recommended by the SCC‑34/SC-2.

The SCC-34/SC-2 has also revised its recommended procedures for testing
wireless handsets with multiple operating modes in the same frequency
band. The procedures described in Appendix D of Supplement C 01‑01
require all modes with a maximum source-based time-averaged output
within 1.0 dB of the mode with the highest output to be tested to
demonstrate compliance. The SCC-34/SC-2 has recently replaced its
earlier recommendation with new procedures. The new procedures that
replace the 1.0 dB requirement described in the current version of
Supplement C are described below:

1.  When multiple operating modes exist within the same frequency band,
    test the device in the highest output mode according to the normal
    Supplement C requirements

2.  The following procedures may be used if the difference between the
    highest output of a low output mode and the lowest output of the
    highest output mode is more than 2 dB; otherwise, such low output
    modes should be tested according to the normal Supplement C
    requirements (the highest and lowest output of an operating mode
    should be determined with respect to the output for high, middle and
    low frequency channel of each mode)

    a.  Test each lower output modes in the configuration that resulted
        in the highest 1-g SAR in the mode with the highest output

    b.  In additional, test the lower output modes in the following
        configurations when the 1-g SAR for the highest output mode of
        such configurations are greater than 0.8 W/kg --

        i.  The antenna position and channel that produced the highest
            1-g SAR in the for the Left Head Touch Position

        ii. The antenna position and channel that produced the highest
            1-g SAR in the for the Left Head Tilt Position

        iii. The antenna position and channel that produced the highest
             1-g SAR in the for the Right Head Touch Position

        iv. The antenna position and channel that produced the highest
            1-g SAR in the for the Right Head Tilt Position

    c.  If the 1-g SAR measured for any configuration in each of the
        lower output mode is ≥ 85% of that measured for the highest
        output mode, the normal Supplement C requirements should be used
        to complete the entire set of required tests for such lower
        output mode(s).

Until Draft Standard P-1528 is adopted by the IEEE, further revisions
should be anticipated. Therefore, after Standard P-1528 is adopted for
final release, we will revise and reprint Supplement C accordingly. In
the interim, all SAR test results filed with the Commission after
September 15, 2002, should follow the requirements described above.

Office of Engineering and Technology Contacts: Dave Means and Kwok Chan
(301) 362-3000.