The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC or Commission) Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (Bureau) and Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) have published a Public Notice seeking input on adding certain connected vehicle technologies to the FCC’s Covered List following determinations made by the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS). Rather than identifying specific entities’ equipment and services that will be added to the Covered List, the Bureau and OET plan to add all automated driving systems (ADS) and vehicle connectivity systems (VCS) to the Covered List that are designed, developed, manufactured, or supplied by persons owned by, controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction of People’s Republic of China (China) or the Russian Federation (Russia). For VCS, the proposal covers both VCS hardware designed, developed, manufactured, or supplied by these Russian and Chinese entities and also VCS hardware that includes integrated software from these entities.
Manufacturers of connected vehicle hardware and software are encouraged to monitor the proceeding closely and consider submitting comments in this proceeding, which are due June 27, 2025. The outcome of this proceeding could have significant implications for the automotive technology sector, particularly regarding FCC equipment authorizations and supply chain compliance.
BIS’s Connected Vehicle Technology Rule
The Bureau and OET rely on a determination made by BIS, published on January 16, 2025, that connected vehicle hardware and software provisioned by certain Chinese- or Russian-controlled entities pose an unacceptable risk to U.S. national security. Specifically, BIS issued a rule restricting the import and sale of certain connected vehicle hardware and software linked to China or Russia. BIS determined that companies from these countries may be compelled to share data or allow remote access to connected vehicles in the U.S. The BIS rule will apply to vehicles under 10,001 pounds and introduces the following phased restrictions: (1) prohibits the sale of connected vehicles of Model Year 2027 and beyond by connected vehicle manufacturers owned by, controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of China or Russia, and the vehicles use the covered software;1 and (2) prohibits the imports of VCS hardware for vehicles of Model Year 2030 (or January 1, 2029 for non-model-year components) from companies owned by, controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of China or Russia. To comply with the rule, manufactures must submit annual Declarations of Conformity with BIS.
Proposed Updates to Covered List
The Bureau’s proposed update would mark the first time the Covered List includes classes of equipment and services—namely, ADS and VCS hardware—rather than specifically named entities’ equipment or services. Based on BIS’s determination, the Bureau and OET proposed to add the following classes of equipment to the Covered List:
- automated driving systems (ADS) and completed connected vehicles designed, developed, manufactured, or supplied by persons owned by, controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of the People’s Republic of China, including the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macau Special Administrative Region, (PRC), or the Russian Federation (Russia); and
- vehicle connectivity systems (VCS) hardware designed, developed, manufactured, or supplied by persons owned by, controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of the PRC or Russia and intended to be included within a completed connected vehicle in the United States; or VCS hardware with integrated covered software designed, developed, manufactured, or supplied by persons owned by, controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of the PRC or Russia.
The Bureau and OET are seeking comment on whether and how to implement this determination for the Covered List, including proposing to exclude VCS hardware that is not intended for a “completed connected vehicle.” The Bureau and OET propose that VCS hardware equipment that is “intended” for a vehicle will meet one of the following elements: (1) is a telematics control unit; (2) contains integrated covered software; or (3) uses spectrum in the 5.895-5.925 GHz band.
Impact on FCC’s Equipment Authorization Process
If the proposed equipment is added to the Covered List, all applicants seeking equipment authorization from the FCC must certify that the equipment is not prohibited from receiving an equipment authorization by virtue of being “covered equipment.” The Bureau and OET tentatively conclude that ADS equipment will not be subject to the FCC’s equipment authorization process, due to the fact that completed connected vehicles, or the collective hardware and software systems that make up ADS, are generally not considered radiofrequency devices for which FCC authorization is sought, whereas VCS hardware is likely to be subject to the FCC’s equipment authorization process. If the proposed equipment is added to the Covered List, applicants seeking equipment authorization from the FCC for VCS hardware must certify that the equipment is not prohibited from receiving an equipment authorization by virtue of being “covered equipment.” As noted, this would also cover VCS hardware that includes integrated software designed, developed, manufactured, or supplied by Chinese or Russian entities. The Bureau and OET seeks comment on whether this is the best implementation of BIS’s determination.
Comments Sought
Comments on this Public Notice are due by June 27, 2025. The comment deadline was initially set for June 9, 2024; however, a coalition of industry stakeholders, including the 5G Automotive Association, Alliance for Automotive Innovation, CTIA, the Consumer Technology Association, and others, filed a joint motion on June 4, 2025, requesting a three-week extension of the comment deadline to June 30, 2025. The extension request emphasized the novel and complex nature of the proposed action, the need for meaningful stakeholder input, and the importance of aligning the FCC’s actions with the phased implementation timeline established by BIS. On June 5, 2025, the Bureau and OET partially granted the comment deadline extension request finding good cause to grant the motion.
1 “Covered Software” is defined as “software-based components, including application, middleware, and system software, in which there is a foreign interest, executed by the primary processing unit or units of an item that directly enables the function of Vehicle Connectivity Systems or Automated Driving Systems at the vehicle level.”
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