About MTCTE
(Mandatory Testing & Certification Of Telecommunication Equipment)
Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications has notified “Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Rules” in Gazette of India vide G.S.R. 1131(E) PART XI on 5th September 2017 which prescribes for Mandatory Testing and Certification of Telecommunication Equipment. Any telegraph which is used or capable of being used with any telegraph established, maintained or worked under the license granted by the Central Government in accordance with the provisions of section 4 of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 (hereinafter referred to as the said Act), shall have to undergo prior mandatory testing and certification in respect of parameters as determined by the telegraph authority from time to time.
Objectives of MTCTE
- 1that any Telecom Equipment does not degrade performance of existing network to which it is connected;
- 2safety of the end–users;
- 3protection of users and general public by ensuring that radio frequency emissions from equipment do not exceed prescribed standards;
- 4that telecom equipment complies with the relevant national and international regulatory standards and requirements.
The testing and certification envisaged in MTCTE Procedure ensures that the equipment meets all TEC prescribed Essential Requirements. The quality and reliability of equipment is not part of this procedure, hence, the same is not guaranteed through this certification. OEMs / dealers themselves will be responsible for necessary quality and reliability criteria claimed by them. Any equipment to be used in the network of Licensed Telecom Service Providers/ Internet Service Providers/Virtual Network Operators etc. may have to undergo additional tests as specified in License.
The Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Rules, 2017, provides that every telecom equipment must undergo mandatory testing and certification prior to sale, import or use in India. This is regulated through a scheme called Mandatory Testing and Certification of Telecom Equipment (MTCTE). MTCTE covers 55 types of telecom products along with associated variants. Testing is carried out to check conformance with essential requirements of the equipment, by labs designated by Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC). Certificates are issued by TEC based on the test reports.
The much-awaited notification for Phase-III & Phase-IV has been released covering almost all kinds of telecom products.
The objectives of the MTCTE are
- No telecom equipment degrades the performance of any existing network to which it is connected
- Safety of end-users
- Protection of users and public by ensuring that radiofrequency emissions from equipment do not exceed prescribed standards
- Compliance of telecom equipment with relevant national and international regulatory standards and requirements.
There are two types of certification schemes
- General Certification Scheme (GCS): Under this scheme, the applicant shall be required to submit test wise compliance (summary sheet provided with the test report) along with the test reports itself, in accordance with the parameters included in the Essential Requirements (ERs), from any designated Conformity Assessment Bodies (CAB) or recognized CAB of Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) partner country. The test results shall be evaluated for compliance against respective ERs.
- Simplified Certification Scheme (SCS):Under this scheme, the applicant must test the product in accordance with the Essential Requirements and submit a test wise compliance sheet along with a Self-Declaration of Conformity (SDoC), in accordance with the parameters included in the ERs. All other rules/procedures that apply under the GCS shall apply in case of SCS, with the exception of the test reports, which are not required to be submitted by the applicant or evaluated by TEC. TEC, however, reserves the right to request a copy of the test report from the applicant to be submitted.
The Essential Requirements describe the technical regulations prescribed under this framework which include:
- Safety
- Electromagnetic interference (EMI)/Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC)
- Technical requirements (including wireless / radio frequency (RF))
- Security: To be notified by Department of Telecommunication (DoT)
- Other requirements: To be notified by DoT