Overview of Draft Second Report and Order and Second FNPRM
On October 7, 2025, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a draft Second Report and Order and Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in ET Docket No. 21-232. The document addresses ongoing efforts to safeguard the communications equipment supply chain within the United States pursuant to the Communications Act of 1934, the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019, and the Secure Equipment Act of 2021.
The draft item builds upon the framework established in November 2022 under the Equipment Authorization Security Report and Order and FNPRM (37 FCC Rcd 13493), which prohibited the authorization of communications equipment determined to pose an unacceptable risk to national security as published on the FCC's Covered List.
- Proceeding: ET Docket No. 21-232 (Document FCC-CIRC2510-03)
- Tentative consideration date: October 28, 2025 Open Meeting
- Comment period: 30 days after Federal Register publication; reply comments due 45 days after publication
Adopted Actions in the Draft Second Report and Order
In the draft Second Report and Order, the Commission clarifies and strengthens existing prohibitions concerning covered equipment and updates Part 2 rules.
The Commission clarifies that covered equipment includes modular transmitters defined under Section 15.212 of the Commission's rules. Accordingly, standalone modular transmitters identified on the Covered List are barred from authorization, and host devices incorporating such covered modular transmitters are also prohibited from receiving equipment authorization, regardless of whether the modular transmitter was previously authorized.
The order establishes a prospective procedure under Section 2.939 to place limitations on previously granted authorizations of covered equipment. This mechanism allows the Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) and the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB) to issue public notices restricting the continued importation and marketing (including sale) of specified covered equipment without revoking the underlying grant or prohibiting the continued operation and use of devices already in consumer hands.
Additionally, the order clarifies the term 'produced by' under Covered List rules to broadly encompass any entity involved in designing, manufacturing, assembling, or developing a device. It also explicitly clarifies that modifications and permissive changes to previously authorized covered equipment are prohibited.
- Amends 47 CFR § 2.803, § 2.903, § 2.932, § 2.933, § 2.939, § 2.1043, and § 2.1204.
- Prohibits authorization of composite systems or host devices containing covered modular transmitters.
- Delegates authority to OET and PSHSB to initiate 30-day public notice proceedings before placing marketing and importation limits on previously authorized covered equipment.
- Prohibits Class I, II, and III permissive changes for equipment identified on the Covered List.
Proposals in the Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
The Second FNPRM addresses the D.C. Circuit's partial remand in Hikvision USA, Inc. v. FCC (97 F.4th 938, 2024), which vacated the FCC's earlier guidance defining 'critical infrastructure' as applied to Section 889(f)(3) video surveillance and telecommunications equipment produced by Hytera, Hikvision, and Dahua.
The Commission proposes to adopt the baseline statutory definition of 'critical infrastructure' from the USA PATRIOT Act (42 U.S.C. § 5195c(e)), defining it as 'systems and assets, whether physical or virtual, so vital to the United States that the incapacity or destruction of such systems would have a debilitating impact on security, national economic security, national public health or safety, or a combination of those matters,' while omitting the broad 'connected to' standard rejected by the court.
- Component parts inquiry: Seeks comment on whether to prohibit devices incorporating other components, such as logic-bearing hardware, firmware, software, or semiconductors produced by Covered List entities or foreign adversaries.
- Modifications: Proposes requiring a full certification filing for any modification or permissive change sought by an entity identified on the Covered List (proposed 47 CFR § 2.907(c) and § 2.932(f)).
- Scope of marketing: Seeks comment on clarifying marketing, distribution, drop-shipping, and consignment responsibilities under 47 CFR §§ 2.803 and 2.1204.
- Enforcement: Solicits input on public verification tools, point-of-sale FCC ID display requirements, inventory verification intervals, and potential expiration dates or renewal requirements for equipment authorizations.