CLA-2:OT:RR:NC:N1:109
Mr. Richard J. Rose
JP Morgan Chase Vastera Professional Services, Inc.
Suite 500
20700 Civic Center Drive
Southfield, MI 48076
RE: The tariff classification of femtocells and WiFi access points from various countries; Correction to Ruling Number N048560
Dear Mr. Rose:
This replaces Ruling Number N048560, dated January 23, 2009. In your original ruling request, dated January 6, 2009, you requested the classification of various femtocells and WiFi access points. Inadvertently, Ruling Number N048560 did not address the description or classification of the access points. A complete corrected ruling follows.
In your letter dated January 6, 2009, you requested a tariff classification ruling.
The merchandise subject to this ruling is femtocells and WiFi access points. Femtocells are small cellular base stations optimized for use in the home and small businesses. Similarly, WiFi access points are small base stations typically deployed in a wireless local area network. However, since the term access point is synonymous with base station in the telecommunication industry, access points may be configured in large cabinets which are intended for either indoor or outdoor placement.
The submitted product literature for femtocells state that they are miniature cellular base stations that connect via broadband infrastructure to provide enhanced 3G signal within a home or small business. Once installed, they enable the operator to provide higher quality and higher performance wireless voice and real-time data services to their residential and small home office customers. The full 3G service set can be delivered in a home or small home office/business from a small device, which is connected to the mobile operator’s core network using open 3GPP based standards via the consumer’s hybrid fiber coaxial (HFC) connection. The femtocell provides the customer with a seamless communication experience as they roam from the inside to the outside of their home. They also experience greater convenience via effective fixed-mobile substitution that eliminates the need for separate home phones, offering the consumer the flexibility of a single phone for access on the road or at home.
Femtocells are, in many ways, similar to Wi-Fi access points in that they enable access through an unobtrusive device. Similar in size to a cable modem, femtocells are a low-capacity base-station, radiating only sufficient power to cover the area of a home environment. The femtocell connects the operator’s core networking using open 3GPP-based standards through the end-user’s household broadband Internet connection rather than traditional cellular backhaul methods.
WiFi access points are deployed in wireless local area networks and function as small base stations. Most access points are WiFi base stations. Likewise, wireless routers, which contain access points, are also called Wi-Fi base stations. Access point base stations are an alternate name for femtocells, which are cellular base stations. The placement of access points, when arranged in cabinets, can be indoors or outdoors.
The term femtocells, WiFi access points, and base stations are synonymous terms. They are devices that enable connection to a wireless or wired network. As such, the femtocells and WiFi access points function as the same kinds of goods as base stations.
The applicable subheading for femtocells and WiFi access points will be 8517.61.0000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for “Other apparatus for transmission or reception of voice, images or other data, including apparatus for communication in a wired or wireless network (such as a local or wide area network: Base Stations.” The rate of duty will be free.
Duty rates are provided for your convenience and are subject to change. The text of the most recent HTSUS and the accompanying duty rates are provided on World Wide Web at http://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/.
This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177).
A copy of the ruling or the control number indicated above should be provided with the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If you have any questions regarding the ruling, contact National Import Specialist Linda M. Hackett at (646) 733-3015.
Sincerely,
Robert B. Swierupski
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division