ERGO Analyzes business-relevant developments: Obligation to test and certify telecom equipment: Regulatory overlaps pave the way for exceptions

introduction

On May 24, 2022, the Telecommunications Engineering Center (TEC) has exempted certain categories of telegraphs from “compulsory testing and certification of telecommunications equipment” (MTCTE) Requirements under the Indian Telegraph Rules 1951 (as amended) (telegraph rules) due to overlapping certification requirements applicable to certain electronic devices.

With respect to the Telegraph Rules, responsibility for compliance with the MTCTE requirements rests with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) or importers/foreign OEMs before selling or importing such telecom equipment into India. Without an MTCTE, the sale of such telegraphs is prohibited.

Since the exempt devices/telegraphs are popular and widely used categories of telecommunications devices, this exemption notice (exemption notice) are particularly relevant for OEMs and importers of such telecommunications equipment.

background

By way of background, any “telegraph” (which was given a fairly broad definition in the Indian Telegraph Act of 1885) which can be used with any telegraph established, maintained or operated under a telecommunications license issued by the Department of Telecommunications becomes (Point) must previously undergo a mandatory test and certification in relation to the parameters set by the competent telegraph authority, i.e. the TEC.

Following the Electronics and Information Technology (Mandatory Registration Requirement) Regulations, 2012 (CRO order), the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) prescribed certain standards for various electronic devices. Under this framework, MEITY also carries out the mandatory registration of certain goods (which include, but are not limited to, laptops, PoS machines and other electronic devices). The CRO Regulations were also updated by the Electronics and Information Technology Goods (Requirement of Compulsory Registration) Regulations 2021. Some new categories of electronic devices have been added, such as B. smart watches, mobile phones, smart card readers, smart speakers, etc.

This led to some regulatory overlaps as TEC also issued certain requirements for mandatory testing and certification of, among others, Smart Cameras, Smart Watches, Smart Electric Meters, Tracking Devices, IoT Gateways, Point of Sale (Pos) devices, etc. under the MTCTE regime.

These overlapping certification requirements led, among other things, to increased compliance efforts and costs for companies in this sector. With this in mind, a press release regarding regulatory overlap with mandatory testing was issued on April 30, 2022. In acknowledgment of the assurances made by the industry and the cost of compliance, the press release noted that DoT (in consultation with MEITY) decided to exempt certain telecommunications devices, resulting in the issuance of this Exception Notice.

In particular, the Telegraph Rules recognize that certain telegraphs (e.g., telegraphs imported into India for research and development purposes, etc., or other categories of telegraph) may be exempted from the MTCTE requirements by an order of TEC.

In exercising this authority, on May 24, 2022, TEC officially issued the exemption notice exempting the following categories of telegraphs from MTCTE requirements: (1) mobile user equipment/mobile handsets; (2) servers; (3) smart watch; (4) smart camera; and (5) PoS devices.

Compliance with the MTCTE regime

To facilitate the MTCTE, the TEC has established an online portal with details of, among other things, essential requirements and safety requirements for the MTCTE process in relation to specific types of telegraph/telecommunications equipment. TEC issues various test or ER parameters in relation to various telegraph/telecommunications equipment from time to time with the aim of, among other things, ensuring that the equipment meets the relevant national and international standards, the performance of the existing network to which they are connected, do not affect etc . In addition, the telecommunications licensees / telecommunications providers (TSP) it is expressly forbidden to use a telegraph on its network that does not have the required certification.

comment

The interaction of the legal and regulatory framework in the field of information technology and telecommunications is more important than ever with the advent of smart devices and the Internet of Things (internet of things) Services. While the exemption notice helps address the regulatory overlap, it is unclear whether it is entirely sufficient, as some categories of IoT devices remain in the domain of TEC and some of MEITY.

Going forward, harmonizing this regulatory framework will be important as smart devices are likely to take off in India with the advent of 5G. Nonetheless, the present exemption notice represents a relief to relevant stakeholders such as OEMs and will hopefully result in a simplified regulatory regime to facilitate doing business in this sector.