(a) Except as expressly permitted by §2.803 or §2.1204 of this chapter, prior authorization must be obtained pursuant to the equipment certification procedure in part 2, subpart J of this chapter for importation, sale or lease in the United States, or offer, shipment, or distribution for sale or lease in the United States of portable earth-station transceivers subject to regulation under part 25. This requirement does not apply, however, to devices imported, sold, leased, or offered, shipped, or distributed for sale or lease before November 20, 2004.

(b) For purposes of this section, an earth-station transceiver is portable if it is a “portable device” as defined in §2.1093(b) of this chapter, i.e., if its radiating structure(s) would be within 20 centimeters of the operator's body when the transceiver is in operation.

(c) In addition to the information required by §2.1033(c) of this chapter, applicants for certification required by this section shall submit any additional equipment test data necessary to demonstrate compliance with pertinent standards for transmitter performance prescribed in §§25.138, 25.202(f), 25.204, 25.209, and 25.216, must demonstrate compliance with the labeling requirement in §25.285(b), and shall ensure compliance with the Commission's radio frequency exposure requirements in §§1.1307(b), 2.1091, and 2.1093 of this chapter, as appropriate. An Environmental Assessment may be required if RF radiation from the proposed facilities would, in combination with radiation from other sources, cause RF power density or field strength in an accessible area to exceed the applicable limits specified in §1.1310 of this chapter. Applications for equipment authorization of mobile or portable devices operating under this section must contain a statement confirming compliance with these requirements. Technical information showing the basis for this statement must be submitted to the Commission upon request.

(d) Applicants for certification required by this section must submit evidence that the devices in question are designed for use with a satellite system that may lawfully provide service to users in the United States pursuant to an FCC license or order reserving spectrum.

[69 FR 5709, Feb. 6, 2004, as amended at 79 FR 8317, Feb. 12, 2014; 81 FR 55330, Aug. 18, 2016; 84 FR 53654, Oct. 8, 2019; 85 FR 18150, Apr. 1, 2020]