Indian Government Names UL Telecom Testing Center

BENGALURU, India -- UL, an independent global safety science company, announced today the Telecommunications Engineering Centre (TEC), a nodal agency of the Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology for the Government of India, has designated UL as a Conformity Assessment Body (CAB).

With this recognition, UL can enable vendors in the telecom sector to test to the mandatory Essential Requirements (ER) for certification by TEC. Telecom equipment manufacturers, importers and dealers can now submit their products at the UL’s Centres of Excellence in Gurugram and Bengaluru for testing and gain the certification from TEC.

UL's designation as CAB comes ahead of a Mandatory Testing and Certification of Telecom Equipment (MTCTE) procedure that will be enforced beginning in October 2018. According to the Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Rules, 2017, prior to sale or import of use in India, every type of telecom equipment must undergo mandatory testing by accredited laboratories in India designated by the TEC. The TEC will then award the certificate, based on the test reports issued by these laboratories. With a validity of five years, the TEC certification mark should be obtained only once for one type of equipment.

The technical regulations prescribed by TEC will govern an array of telecom products from mobile handsets to WiFi routers. The specifications outline testing for electrical and fire safety, performance and technical parameters like Specific Absorption Rate (SAR), Radio Frequency (RF), Security Requirements, Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) and Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC).

"The telecom sector in India has undergone dramatic changes over the past decade. While foreign direct investment in the sector has nearly doubled in the last five years, India's smartphone segment is one of the fastest growing in the world, attracting top global players," said Suresh Sugavanam, vice president and managing director for South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa at UL. "The high demand for telecom products, increasing technology disruption and proliferation in the industry is driving the need for regulation in India. It is heartening that the TEC has anticipated the risks that come with development and has created an all-encompassing certification scheme to address the safety, performance and security concerns of telecom products, services and networks."

Sugavanam continued: "As a member of several technical committees of the TEC, UL has established a fruitful partnership with the technical body, where we share our international expertise in product safety, security and sustainability. With our recognition as a Conformity Assessment Body, we are committed to support the players in the industry meet the regulatory requirements to gain market access in this highly competitive environment. Given the emerging health and performance concerns like radio frequency emissions and equipment degradation when connected to service networks, our efforts will ultimately benefit the end consumers, who can enjoy products that conform to relevant standards."

Underwriters Laboratories Inc.