DoT body wants pre-launch tests of mobiles for radiation

Mobile handset manufacturers, as well as importers in India, would soon have to get their handsets tested for radiation before any launch across the country, if the recommendations of Telecom Engineering Centre (TEC), the technical arm of the department of telecommunications, are accepted.

A TEC committee set up to study issues related to implementation of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) guidelines has said the manufacturer/importer would have to provide two random samples of each model being sold in India to TEC for compliance monitoring before the launch. The test fee would have to borne by the companies.

This exercise would be done to monitor the compliance of SAR limits for mobile phones, an internal note said. Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) shows the amount of radio waves absorbed by the body while using a mobile phone.

DoT has already approved self-certification of mobile handsets by the manufacturers/importers for SAR value, which would be published in the booklet of the handset or on the handset itself.

TEC would also have the discretion of picking up two to 10 sample models from the market or from the factory of a manufacturer if there was any complaint or due to some other reason. A list of models would be maintained on the TEC website, along with the SAR values and ‘tested’ label.

For compliance of radio frequency electromagnetic field emissions from mobile base transceiver station (BTS) antenna, TEC would check 10 per cent of new BTSs randomly. DoT has already approved self-certification for mobile operators to meet prescribed limits for human exposure to electromagnetic radiations for BTS. Like mobile phones, a similar list of BTSs would be maintained on the website.

TEC would also set up laboratory for testing the SAR value, as well as the prescribed limit for radiations from BTS, to audit the self-certification furnished by the concerned parties. “Setting a lab for testing of handsets and BTSs would help in building up skills which would help in taking India out of perpetual dependence on foreign labs and telecom technologies,” it said.

However, if there was any delay in testing of samples by TEC, there would be no impact on service providers and handset manufacturers, the committee said.