New Delhi: Union Minister for Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia on Thursday announced a significant reduction up to 95 per cent in telecom equipment certification fees in the security test evaluation fees for telecom and ICT products.
“Telecom testing made cheaper with certification fees slashed by up to 95% across over 50 categories… boosting compliance, accelerating Ease of Doing Business, strengthening trust for a self-reliant #DigitalIndia.”
The decision to reduce the price was taken to enhance ease of doing business and reduce the compliance burden on the telecom and ICT sectors, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) said.
The new price will be effective from August 01, 2025. The “revised fee structure under the Communication Security Certification Scheme (ComSec) is aimed at making the security certification process more affordable for domestic manufacturers especially MSMEs,” Ministry of Communications said.
The security test evaluation fees, previously ranging from Rs 2,00,000 to Rs 3,50,000 depending on the equipment category, have now been drastically reduced. Under the revised structure, fees for Group A equipment drop to Rs 10,000 from Rs 200,000, Group B to Rs 20,000 from Rs 200,000, Group C to Rs 30,000 from Rs 250,000, and Group D to Rs 50,000 from Rs 350,000. This will significantly reduce the financial strain on telecom/ICT product manufacturers, including domestic players, the ministry’s release stated.
The Ministry of Communications informed that the DoT simplified the security testing and compliance process for Highly Specialized Equipment (HSE) and End-of-Sale/End-of-Life telecom products.
“Currently, products like IP Routers, Wi-Fi CPEs, and 5G Core SMF are under mandatory security testing, while Optical Line Terminals and Optical Networking Terminals are subject to voluntary security certification, with fee exemptions applicable until August 31, 2025,” the release stated.