The Cellular Operator Association of India has approached the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to request for the removal of the interface approval certificate (IAC) renewal if a mobile operator shifts the same installed equipment in his network to another circle. According to COAI, IAC certification/renewal process by the TEC takes a minimum two years and a maximum of eight years, which is equivalent to the lifecycle of a network product.
Presently, telecom operators re-locating network equipment need to submit a new IAC obtained from DoT’s Telecom Engineering Centre (TEC) toward meeting minimum rollout to DoT’s TERM cells. The rule primarily applies to telecom operators that acquired spectrum and re-located network equipment after licences were cancelled by the Supreme Court in February 2012.
COAI has further stated that such IAC renewals should only be required if new network equipment is being commissioned. Meanwhile, old certificates should be valid for existing deployed network elements.
