The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has postponed the mandatory testing and certification requirements for broadband equipment to September 1, 2025. The move comes in response to the United States (US) government imposing a 26 per cent reciprocal tariff on India, citing India’s telecom testing norms as restrictive for American firms.
Meanwhile, starting April 10, 2025, the US government has announced a 90-day pause on these tariffs for all countries except China, effective till July 9, 2025. During this window, a reduced tariff rate of 10 per cent will apply.
On April 7, the National Centre for Communication Security (NCCS), under the DoT, notified that optical network terminal (ONT) and optical line terminal (OLT) products will fall under the voluntary security certification (VSC) regime until August 31, 2025. During this period, administrative and security evaluation fees will not be charged.
Previously, April 1 was the deadline for mandatory testing of ONTs already deployed and proposed for hardware or software changes. For ONTs yet to undergo certification but intended for sale in India, the cut-off was set as February 2.
Further, from September 1, 2025, certification for compliance with the Indian Telecom Security Assurance Requirements (ITSAR) under the ComSec scheme will become mandatory for such products.
