Govt delays mandatory broadband gear testing rule till Sep 1 amid US tariff

The telecom department has deferred mandatory testing requirements for broadband gears till September 1 amid ongoing negotiations with the US on tariff issues.

The US government has specifically termed India's testing and certification requirements in the telecom sector as burdensome that make it difficult or costly for American companies to sell their products in India.

The National Centre for Communication Security (NCCS) under the Department of Telecommunications on April 7 notified that optical network terminal (ONT) and optical line terminal (OLT) products will be under the voluntary security certification (VSC) regime till August 31 during which administrative fees and security test evaluation fees shall not be levied.

Earlier the DoT had set April 1 for mandatory testing and certification of ONTs that have already been deployed in telecom networks and are proposed for change in hardware and software.

The department had set February 2 as the last date for mandatory certification on ONT that has not undergone certification and was proposed to be sold in India.

"Subsequently, from September 1, 2025, such products shall be mandatorily certified for their compliance to ITSAR (Indian Telecom Security Assurance Requirements) under the ComSec scheme," the order said.

OLTs are installed at the broadband service providers' side for transmission of signals using optical fibres, while ONTs are installed at the user end for accessing the services.

The DoT issued the 'Communication Security Certification Scheme' (ComSec) in 2020, which is applicable to the security certification of all telecommunication equipment that is required to go through mandatory testing and certification processes.

The department has covered various telecom gears like routers, core equipment, 5G base stations, and servers, among others, under the Comsec.

The government has introduced mandatory testing and certification rules to curb spurious imports and enhance the security of the digital networks in the country.