Telecommunication Engineering Center (TEC) Certificate

The Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Rules, 2017 provides that every telecom equipment must undergo mandatory testing and certification before its sell or import in India. Any Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM)/ importer/ dealer who wishes to sell, import, or use any telecom equipment in India, shall have to obtain a Certificate from Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC) and mark or affix the equipment with the appropriate Certification label. Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC) functions under the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Government of India. Its activities include:

Issue of Generic Requirements (GR), Interface Requirements (IR), Service Requirements (SR) and Standards for Telecom Products and Services 

• Field evaluation of products and Systems 
• National Fundamental Plans 
• Support to DoT on technology issues 
• Testing & Certification of Telecom products

For the purpose of testing, four Regional Telecom Engineering Centers (RTECs) have been established which are located at New Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, and Kolkata. With the notification of Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Rules 2017 enabling mandatory testing and certification of telecom equipment (MTCTE), TEC has been designated as the Telegraph Authority for the purpose of administration of MTCTE procedure and Surveillance Procedure, and for the formulation of Essential Requirements under MTCTE.

Product Categories under various Phases

Phase 1- (Effective from 1st October 2019)

• Wire Telephone Equipment
• G3 Fax Machine
• ISDN Customer premise equipment
• Modem
• Private Automatic Branch Exchange
• Cordless Phone

Phase 2- (Effective from 1st October 2020)

• GPON Equipment
• Feedback devices
• Transmission terminal equipment

Phase 3

• Base station for cellular network
• Compact cellular network
• Conferencing and presentation equipment
• Conferencing equipment
• DSL Equipment
• End point device for environmental monitoring
• Equipment operating in 2.4 Ghz & 5 Ghz band
• HF Radio
• IOT Gateway
• IP Terminal

Phase 4

• LAN Switch
• Media Gateway
• Mobile Handset
• Media Converter
• Mobile Radio Trunking systems
• PTP PMP Microwave fixed radio systems
• Point of sale devices
• Repeater for cellular network
• Router
• Satellite Communication equipment

Phase 5

• Session border controller
• Signaling Gateway
• Smart Camera
• Smart Electricity meter
• Smart Watch
• Soft Switch
• Tracking device
• VHF UHF radio system equipment 

TEC certificate guarantees the safety and standard of the telecom equipment. Details are mentioned below:

• The Indian Telegraph Rules 2017 notified that every OEM or Original Equipment Manufacturer or importer who wishes to market any telecom products in India must obtain TEC certificate and mark or fix the product with appropriate certificate labels.
• To protect end users by ensuring that RF or Radio Frequency emission from equipment does not exceed the approved standards.
• That the telecom equipment complies with applicable national and international standards & technical requirements.
• TEC certificate makes sure that telecom equipment does not degrade the performance of an existing network where it is connected.
• To ensures the safety of product.
• The telecom products meet all TEC approved ERs or mandatory standards.

• Step 1: Applicant registration

Only individuals, employed by Indian companies, which are OEM/ brand owner or authorized Indian Representative (AIR) of foreign OEMs are permitted to register on the MTCTE portal. The applicant has to fill all the relevant details on the portal followed with documents during registration, post submission the details and documents are scrutinized by MTCTE and login credentials are granted to the applicant after confirmation.

• Step 2: Application filling and Testing

The applicant willing to file a new application needs to visit the dashboard and click on the fresh application tab. Under the Fresh Application/ Enter Details, User needs to select Type of Certification i.e. Certification under MTCTE. User needs to select “Certification under MTCTE”, and read privacy policy until the end, by scrolling down. Post entering all the details applicant needs to pay application fees either online or offline. 

The testing of the product must be from BIS-designated labs (CAB), which further needs to be uploaded on the portal. 

• Step 3: Approval/Certificate

The submitted file is scrutinized by the officer for the final approval/certificate against the application. The user can download the certificate from the certificate dashboard which is valid for 5 years from the date grant.

• Step 4: Surveillance

Surveillance of products under MTCTE is carried out by Licensed Service Area (LSA) field units of Department of Telecommunications. It ensures that the telegraph used/ sold has required certifications and/ or conforms to the Essential Requirements of existing certifications. Such inspection and/ or testing may be carried out periodically, or at the discretion of Telegraph Authority/ Appropriate Authority or due to any complaint.