Telecommunications Industry Association
TR41.9-07-11-012-L
Project Number
Document Title
ACTA Report to SDO TR41.9 – Albuquerque
Source
John Bipes, ACTA OIP-Primary and ACTA SDO Representative to TR41.9
Contact
Distribution
Intended Purpose
of Document
(Select one)
John Bipes, ACTA OIP-Primary
MOBILE ENGINEERING
906 Adams St.
Mankato, MN 56001 U.S.A.
Phone: 507-345-7169
Fax: 507-345-8626
Email: mobeng@hickorytech.net
TR-41.9
For Information
The document to which this cover statement is attached is submitted to a Formulating Group or
sub-element thereof of the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) in accordance with the
provisions of Sections 6.4.1–6.4.6 inclusive of the TIA Engineering Manual dated March 2005, all of
which provisions are hereby incorporated by reference.
Abstract
ACTA activities since the last meeting of TR41.9 – ACTA Representative to SDO. Report on ACTA’s 6th
September, 2007 Face-to-Face meeting and subsequent ACTA activities.
v1.0 – 20050426
Telecommunications Industry Association
TR41.9-07-11-012-L
Administrative Council for Terminal Attachments
ACTA Public Meeting(s):
Recent Meeting:
6th September, 2007
(Face-to-Face Meeting)
At the September meeting of the ACTA:
The big issue before the ACTA in September was re-organization; updating the much-talked
about / much-discussed / much-considered change to the ACTA’s seating of Industry Segment
representatives. These Industry Segment changes resulted in the following – an update to the
ACTA’s OP&P, Section 3.2:
1.1.
3.2. Council Organization - Size and Structure
The Administrative Council shall be comprised of:
(1) four Interest Segments with delineated voting members and alternates;
(2) non-voting Invited Observers; and
(3) a non-voting chair.
3.2.1 Interest Segments
Interest Segments, with their allotted voting members and one alternate per Interest
Segment, shall be categorized as follows:
(A) Service Provider Segment (“SPS”) – four voting members
(B) Manufacturer Segment (“MS”) – four voting members
(C) Testing Laboratories Segment (“LAB”) – two voting members
(D) Other Interested Parties Segment (e.g., consumer groups and associations
representing individuals with disabilities) (“OIP”) – two voting members.
3.2.2 Invited Observers
The non-voting category shall be for “Invited Observers.” This category shall include the
Federal Communications Commission (USA), Industry Canada (Canada) and Comision
Federal de Telecomunicaciones (Mexico) Representatives. The Administrative Council
may agree to add other individuals, organizations or entities to the Invited Observers
category provided the individual, organization or entity would not appropriately fall into
one of the Interest Segments identified in Section 3.2.1.
v1.0 – 20050426
Telecommunications Industry Association
TR41.9-07-11-012-L
Nominations for ACTA Elections: http://www.part68.org/ On 1 November, 2007, the ACTA
Secretariat announced a call for Nominations for Election to the newly defined ACTA
Industry Segments. A Letter of Support accompanied by a personal Biography (C.V.)
should be submitted no later than November 16th,2007 (Close of business). The Election
will begin on November 19, 2007, and will close on November 30, 2007. Each Interest
Segment is responsible for electing only their representative and alternates. Notification
of the results of the election will be distributed to all ACTA members on December 3,
2007.
Those wishing to be Nominated for Election, contact Paul Anderson. (Paul
panderson@atis.org, 202-662-8654.)
Anderson,
Recent Question to the ACTA Leadership from the Secretariat (Mark Cassarino,
2nd Oct.):
The ACTA has “…Received a very large number of filings that have failed to identify the technical criteria
that apply to their particular filing. The specific criterion in question is “Telecommunications Telephone
Terminal Equipment Connector Requirements for Connection of Terminal Equipment to the Telephone
Network, TIA-1096, August 2006. The criterion was adopted on March 14, 2007 making it mandatory to
reference on September 14, 2007. The confusion regarding this criterion stems from two specific causes:
1) The ACTA website does not prominently display which criteria are required for filings.
2) The Summary of Technical and Labeling Criteria Dates document, located on the documents
main page, fails to list the newest criteria.
As a result, almost every filing that has been processed in the last two weeks has been audited and returned
to the filer for resubmission.
The following suggestion is being provided to alleviate the confusion:
1) The Summary of Technical and Labeling Criteria Dates should be removed from the ACTA website
to prevent confusion
2)
A summary of Technical Criteria will be placed on a webpage and prominently referenced during the
online filing process to ensure all required criteria are reference.
http://www.part68.org/techrequirements.aspx
I have provided for you a link to the proposed required technical criteria page for your comment and
suggestions. Since this issue is having a rather significant impact on the filing system now, it would be my
recommendation that we move on this quickly to prevent any further confusion. All comments and
suggestions are welcome and encouraged.
Also, please verify for me if T1.TRQ.6-2001 must be mentioned in the certificate only if it applies to the
product in question. If so, any suggested text would be greatly appreciated.
Via and e-mail discussion between members of the ACTA and with recommendations from Dan Bart
representing TIA, the matter was resolved on 4th October: As a follow up to the “confusion regarding
technical criteria and ACTA filings” the following actions have been taken.
1)
The Summary of Technical and Labeling Criteria Dates spreadsheet has been removed from the
v1.0 – 20050426
Telecommunications Industry Association
TR41.9-07-11-012-L
Part 68 website
2)
A summary of Technical Criteria web page has been created
3)
The new web page can be accessed from the following places on the Part 68 website:
a.
The Part 68 home page
b.
The online filing main page
c.
The first page a filer sees when they log onto the system
4)
A copy of the web page can be viewed here: http://www.part68.org/techrequirements.aspx
Thank you once again for all of your assistance regarding this issue and please let me know if there are any
additional changes that should be made.
Regards
Mark Cassarino
ACTA Database Manager
NOTE: Because of Trone Bishop’s watchfulness; the document quicklink at the ACTA Website entitled
"Labeling and Technical Criteria Dates" showing "critical dates" on the spreadsheet that were out of date –
it was suggested by Trone that we “…remove that link and spreadsheet as well since it does not provide
any information about TIA-968-A-4 and TIA-968-A-5.” Once brought to the ACTA Secretariat’s attention
the link and the document were removed.
Another recent Question to the ACTA Leadership from the Secretariat
(Mark Cassarino, 22nd Oct.):
I am resurrected an issue that was discussed a while back with no resolution, however; an email was
recently sent to ACTA identifying a product that contains an ACTA label on it but it does not appear to be
a valid one. Complainant’s message follows:
”…Can you educate me on the importance of a valid FCC registration number and what the ramifications are of a fake
one? I have found a new telephone that is being sold the hospitality market imported from China that apparently has a
fake FCC Number, the number is as follows:
FCC Registration No.: US: COXTE17BEPS
How do I learn if this is in fact a fake number? Has it been applied for and failed?...”
Mark’s comment continued: “…The label provided does not show up in the database at all, neither does
the RPC uses. While fully aware that ACTA does not provide enforcement, a responsibility still left with
the FCC, I was hoping to provide some guidance to the individual in regards to what steps he can take to
present this to the FCC for review. I can notify the individual that if the product does not show up in the
Part68 Database, then the product is not allowed to be connected to the network.
Regarding whether the product “Has it been applied for and failed?” there is no comment we can make
about that since we do not handle product testing.
Any suggestion you can provide are greatly appreciated. Te email has been included below for your
reference.
Regards and thanks
Mark Cassarino
NOTE: This issue was briefly discussed in an e-mail exchange between members of the ACTA – it was
v1.0 – 20050426
Telecommunications Industry Association
TR41.9-07-11-012-L
suggested that it’s possible the complainant possibly mis-noted the numbers? (It should also be noted that
the issue of ACTA-06-03-09-06 – a probably point-of-sale TE violation with the same retailer has again
come to life. I made one phone call to the Commission – same office which phoned me for follow-up
details after the ACTA forwarded ACTA-06-03-09-06 to the Commission in 2005 – and in a couple of
week’s time my call has not been returned. )
Yet a third Recent Question to the ACTA Leadership from the Secretariat
(Mark Cassarino, 22nd Oct.):
A recent filing to the AOF filing system was audited and returned to the filer for failure
to cite TIA-1096. The filer, a TCB, is challenging the decision and requesting an
additional explanation, because:
“As a TCB we are questioning the reason for TIA-1096 to be added when that has to deal with connectors
and the grant clearly states that it is 'Hardwired' if you could please explain why we are going to have this
stated under 'Specification" on our grant when it does not comply with what is being approved.”
Since this could generate additional questions in the future from filers I was hoping that
the council could provide guidance in how to address this. The e-mail thread was
included below for your reference. Any support you can provide in this matter is greatly
appreciated. Upon receiving recommendations from the council I will then draft the email that will be sent to the filer.
Once again thank you for your support and assistance.
Regards
Mark Cassarino
ACTA Database Manager
In an e-mail exchange on the subject, Trone Bishop wrote: “I agree with the TCB. If the
terminal equipment is hardwired and does not utillize connectors to attach the device to wireline carrier
networks then TIA-1096 is not applicable.
Recommend adding a red note under TIA-1096 on the ‘Important Technical Criteria Information for all
ACTA Filers’ page (in the same format as we did for the red note under TIA-968-A-5 on the same page)
which says ‘*This standard needs to be cited when plugs and/or jacks are used to connect terminal
equipment to wireline carrier networks.’
NOTE: Dan Bart representing TIA in the discussion agreed with Trone’s position.
ACTA Staff Changes at the ACTA Secretariat, ATIS:
v1.0 – 20050426
Telecommunications Industry Association
TR41.9-07-11-012-L
On 4th September it was announced by ATIS, ACTA Secretariat, that Ms.
Meisha Goodhue has joined ATIS as Ben Preisendanz’s replacement as
Administrative Assistant to a number of various ATIS forums and
committees, including ACTA.Meisha has a strong background in writing,
English, and administrative services. Most of us on the ACTA met her at
the ACTA meeting in September.
On 13th September it as further announced that Paul Anderson at ATIS
would be assisting Jean-Paul Emard, ACTA Director, as ACTA Secretariat
(as well as other duties). Paul has a very diverse background and one
well-suited to the requirements for meeting ACTA’s needs. This past May,
Paul completed a paralegal program at Boston University. In addition,
Paul earned a Bachelor of English Education from Olivet Nazarene
University, Bourbonnais, Illinois. He has been a middle school teacher in
Virginia and taught high school in Illinois. He also is a talent in the kitchen
with a specialty in desserts!
Paul is looking forward to meeting all at the next face-to-face meeting here
in Washington, DC., Thursday, 6th December, 2007.
ATIS Liaison to the ACTA:
Jean-Paul Emard
JPEmard@atis.org
202-434-8824
ACTA Manager for Database Maintenance and Support:
Mark Cassarino
ACTA Secretariat:
Paul Anderson
panderson@atis.org
202-662-8654
ACTA Online Filing Administrator:
Meisha Goodhue
mgoodhue@atis.org
202-434-8859
NOTE 1: While we welcome Paul and recently Meisha, Mark
continues with ATIS and the ACTA Secretariat as one of the
longest tenured of those with the Secretariat – having worked
with the ACTA since its inception in 2001. Mark is one of the
most informed, competent and capable people – often
contacting members of the ACTA with problems and concerns
and most capably moderating e-mailed discussions to
v1.0 – 20050426
Telecommunications Industry Association
TR41.9-07-11-012-L
convergent conclusions. Many thanks to all and especially to
Mark for his work with the ACTA down through the years!
NOTE 2: Edward (Ed) Mikoski, VP for Standards and Business
Development, is becoming TIA’s Liaison to ACTA – replacing
Dan Bart has been serving in that capacity since the beginning.
(Well, those who know Dan know he cannot be replaced. Dan,
we hope to continue to see you around – perhaps in some new
incarnation?)
The next General Meeting for the ACTA is:
Thursday, 6th December, 2007, 10:00 am-5:00pm ET: Face-to-Face
Meeting at the ACTA Secretariat, ATIS in Washington, D.C. We
encourage any/all to attend! (Though this December meeting is usually a Virtual one,
it was decided by the ACTA in September that the next General Meeting of the ACTA would be
face-to-face to allow new members to become acquainted – thereby making subsequent virtual
meetings more productive w. new members having met and worked with one another in
December.)
At the December meeting or in executive session, a schedule of 2008 meetings will be
schedule by the new members of the ACTA.
General Meetings of the Council are open to the public. Contributions to the meetings
may be made by any person or organization by the procedure described in the ACTA
Operating Principles and Procedures. Contributions should be submitted through the
Contribution Template available for download at the ACTA website and transmitted by
electronic mail to the ACTA Secretariat at acta@atis.org.
Unless otherwise announced, Face-to-Face meetings take place at the ATIS Conference
Center in Washington, DC, but will be simultaneously hosted by virtual meeting. Those
wishing to attend these meetings in-person are asked to RSVP to the ACTA Secretariat
prior to the meeting date. Information on in-person meeting attendance can be found on
the ATIS website at http://www.atis.org/directions.shtml. Information for attending the
virtual meetings will be announced prior to each meeting date by the ACTA email
exploder lists.
Questions and comments about this notice should be submitted to the ACTA Secretariat
via email at acta@atis.org, or by phone at +1.202.628.6380.
v1.0 – 20050426