India Telecom TEC Certification Service
What is TEC
TEC is the Telecommunication Engineering Center under the Department of Telecommunications. TEC certification has been a voluntary process since 1991, but in 2017 the Mandatory Testing & Certification of Telecom Equipment (MTCTE) regime was implemented making TEC certification mandatory for certain product types. Some product types became mandatory as of 2019, but much equipment is still pending an implementation date. There are several phases of roll-out for implementing different types of equipment. These phase implementation dates have been subject to change. To see the latest on the product types and their phase implementation dates, please see our India blog posts at: https://www.gmcompliance.com/category/asia-pacific/india/. Certification disciplines under TEC include: Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC/EMI), Safety, Interoperability (performance), and Security. Others are under consideration.
MTCTE Certification Regime
The first step in the MTCTE certification process is to establish whether or not your product falls under TEC. This can be somewhat nebulous, but so far it seems that products covered by BIS are not intended to fall under TEC and vice versa. Once a product category and variant are determined, an account on the TEC portal can be established. This will require information regarding the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), the factory, and the product(s) to be certified.
Essential Requirements (ERs) & Testing
Essential Requirements (ERs) are given for each product category and can shed some light on whether a specific product belongs to the applicable category. These ERs reference specific variants (product types within the category), and each variant references specific product standards, which is where applicable discipline requirements are found. The MTCTE process requires testing of samples to be performed in accordance with the ERs by an authorized Indian TEC lab. A family or series test plan is possible under the MTCTE requirements. This would allow for a worse-case sample or samples to be tested as representative of a series of products. Once a passing verdict has been determined, the report must be uploaded to the TEC portal for review and approval.
TEC Certificate & Label
Upon acceptance, TEC will issue a certificate. TEC only allows up to 10 models per certificate. Unlike BIS, where all products of the same category are certified under an umbrella registration, each product or product series has its own individual certificate for TEC. Certificates are not tied to an individual factory. Multiple factories can be listed on each certificate. The TEC logo and certificate number must be marked on the product once certified.
Authorized Indian Representative (AIR)
An AIR must be established in India for TEC registration. If the applicant or factory has a representative office in India, this office must take the responsibility of AIR. If there is no existing representation in India, another legal entity within India can be nominated as the AIR.