The U.S. government shutdown could delay the launch of smartphones, tablets and other gadgets made by Google, Apple, Samsung, LG and HTC, as companies can not get the required certificates from U.S. agencies.
PCs, mobile phones, game consoles, TVs and wireless medical devices using radio waves must be approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The Commission approves annually about 16,000 electronic devices, according to data presented last month at the request of Congress.
Approval rate is now zero and it “could be something that’s a real drag on the digital economy the longer it goes on,” said a member of the Commission, Democrat Jessica Rosenworcel.
98 percent of FCC employees was furloughed and the federal agency suspended most of its operations after the new fiscal year began on October 1 without the Congress reaching an agreement on the federal budget.
Even after it resumes work, the government agency will have a lot of catching up, creating the possibility of delays in product launches by Google, Apple, Samsung Electronics, HTC and LG Electronics, warned in a research note the law firm Hogan Lovells.
“Increasingly it’s going to have an impact on the widely known and available consumer products, depending on how long the shutdown lasts,” said in an interview, Michele Farquhar, a partner at the Washington office of the law firm.
Companies use private laboratories to conduct tests and need a final approval from the Commission for products such as smartphones, tablets and laptops.
Products scheduled to reach the store shelves in time for Christmas were probably approved in June or July and will not have a problems, said a former employee of the agency.
Representatives of Google and Apple declined to comment, while officials from Asian companies Sony, ZTE and Lenovo said that their businesses in the U.S. were not affected by the federal government shutdown.
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