CTA Seeks Flexible ‘Transition Time’ for Tech Firms Not ‘Traditionally’ Regulated by FCC

CTA seeks flexible compliance schedules for consumer tech companies not “traditionally” regulated by the FCC but that may have become subject to commission accessibility rules because they're building new video and communications functionality into their products, it told FCC staff in Thursday meetings, said an ex parte notice posted Monday in docket 12-108. Compliance with the rules "should allow for a transition time in proportion with consumer technology product development cycles," CTA said. It backs “narrow waivers” the Media Bureau granted recently to Honda and Fiat Chrysler on user interface requirements for rear entertainment systems (see 1709050065), but automotive product development cycles are “much longer” than those of “traditionally regulated" consumer tech products like TVs and smartphones. The association “supports further appropriate flexibility in particularized situations, as automakers and their suppliers address in good faith the FCC’s accessibility rules.”