According to an official notification, the National Centre for Communication Security (NCCS), Department of telecommunications (DoT), has postponed the rollout of mandatory security testing for optical fibre-based broadband equipment for the third time until December 31.
Voice of Indian Communication Technology Enterprises (VoICE) has alleged that the delay stems from foreign vendors’ reluctance to undergo security testing, though NCCS has denied this claim.
Further, the notification states that optical network terminal (ONT) and optical line terminal (OLT) products will remain under the voluntary security certification (VSC) regime until December 31, 2025, during which no administrative fee or security test evaluation fee will be charged.
A DoT spokesperson reportedly said that the extension is aimed at simplifying Communication Security Certification Scheme (ComSec) processes and addressing product-grouping concerns of Indian startups and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
