As reported earlier this year in RF Report, appliance maker Electric Mirror asked the FCC for a six-month waiver of the DTV tuner requirement for its TV receivers that are built into vanity mirrors. In Order (DA 07-4985), the FCC denied the waiver request. “Were the waiver request not moot, a grant of the waiver requested by Electric Mirror would be inconsistent with the Commission’s goal of ensuring that viewers are able to receive broadcast television service after analog service ends and therefore would not have served the public interest,” the order said.
The FCC rejected Electric Mirror’s argument which stated that because a waiver was granted for TV sets used in medical facilities, Electric Mirror should receive a waiver. Unlike the TV sets used in medical facilities, which are manufactured by small companies and must go through a lengthy medical equipment approval process, the Electric Mirrors receivers “are not used by a population with these special needs nor are they subject to a lengthy approval process,” the FCC wrote.
In January, Kohler Co. requested a waiver of the DTV tuner requirement until Jan. 1, 2008. On May 3, 2007, Kohler submitted a litter requesting withdrawal of the request for the waiver. In Order (DA 07-4997), the FCC granted allowed the company to withdraw its waiver request.
