Airtel, jio and Vi warn that 5G phone availability could plummet if government moves ahead with a new ruling mandating local testing and certification of devices.Telecom providers said the move would affect data consumption and restrict market access.
The DoT has decided to bring in 5G phones under the fifth phase of regulation (via the Economic Times) scheduled from January 1, 2023, for Mandatory Testing and Certification of Telecom Equipment(MTCTE). The operators said that going ahead with this would thwart India’s aspirations to become a global manufacturing hub.
“We urge your association to appeal to TEC to cancel existing notices covering all consumer electronics products under the MTCTE certification regime and to refrain from pursuing smart watches, wearables and smart cameras under Phase III and 5G mobile phones under MTCTE’s Phase V.” According to the report, the Cellular Operators Association of India was sent a letter to Telecom Secretary of India K Rajaraman.
The Cellular Operators Association of India represents global companies such as Apple, Google, Ericsson, Huawei and Nokia, as well as operators such as Jio, Airtel and Vodaphone-idea.Together they have asked DoT and TEC not to interfere in mobile manufacturing and to leave it under the regulatory framework of the Ministry of IT & Electronics (MeitY) of the Bureau of Industrial Standards (BIS).
Industry executives added that MTCTE was a time-consuming process and would be burdensome for OEMs to comply with, regulate market access and delay equipment launches.
TEC’s latest decision is causing unrest and uncertainty in the industry as any disruption in the availability of 5G smartphones will automatically slow down the adoption of 5G services in India and reduce overall data consumption. , Which will ultimately affect telco ARPUs.
Read interesting news, reviews as well as tips & tricks on TechnoBugg website, and stay updated with the latest happenings of the tech world on the go with Technobugg App. Also follow on Google News and join our Telegram channel for the latest updates.
