DoT announces mandatory tests for all the telecom gears to be sold or brought to India and will also bar telecom operators if the rule is not followed
Aruna Sundararajan, Secretary, Department of Telecom (DoT) has announced that all the telecom gadgets used by the operators must be tested and then acquire a certification by the authorised agencies from October 1, 2018. She said that the test, under the Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Rules, 2017, was compulsory.
DoT equipment test
The new rule suggests that all the equipment must undergo the mandatory test to carry on with the sale of equipment or their imports. It also allows the DoT to adopt punitive measures in case a manufacturer fails to follow the rules. With this, the department has sent out a clear message to telecom operators about the consequences of using the untested and uncertified equipment.
Earlier, the government had security concerns with Chinese telecom operator Huawei. It banned the operator in 2010 in India. The issue was after the operator was suspected of using a technology designed to spy into sensitive communication. It was lifted when companies agreed to adopt stringent measures to check on security issues. The secretary said that DoT would work with Huawei in 5G trials after examining their proposal.
The Telecom industry that the mandatory tests would further delay the whole process of network deployment and its expansion, thereby affecting its ecosystem. Earlier, the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), comprising Indian service providers and network vendors such as Huawei, Ericsson and ZTE, had asked to hold the mandatory tests until October 1, 2019.
