Govt to soon lay standards for mobile phone

The government has started working on framing standards for mobile phones sold in India with a view to protect customer interest by assuring quality through certification.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) mid of last month deliberated on framing standards for mobile phones as per Indian conditions with representatives from the Telecom Engineering Centre (TEC) and the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).

"DoT arrived at two conclusions. Either an amendment will have to made in Indian Telegraph Act to give the department jurisdiction over telecom consumer products like mobile phone, or notify standards through BIS," an official source told PTI.

The option of notifying standards through BIS seemed more suitable to representatives at the meeting, the source added.

Scientists from BIS said they are already in process of formulating standards for mobile phones. They will include guidelines suggested by the DoT and the TEC so that the interest of consumers is protected.

BIS representatives added that the standard "prepared would focus on safety and performance requirements."

A majority of the mobile phones in India are imported and many handsets fail to live up to fair use in the Indian environment.

Consumers of even leading brands are known to face problems in their mobile phones during high humidity and temperature in summers. Malfunctioning of handsets due to moisture is apparently not covered under warranty conditions.

"The new standard will ensure that mobile handsets meet requirement of Indian conditions," another official source said.

India imported mobile devices of over Rs 25,800 crore in financial year 2012-13, an official data said.

As per market research firm IDC, about 257 million handsets were sold in India during calendar year 2013.