Standardisation in India Arun Golas DDG (T&A) TEC, DoT, India Joint ITU-GISFI Workshop on “Bridging the Standardization Gap: Workshop on Sustainable Rural Communications” (Bangalore, India, December 2012) Bangalore, India, December 2012

Agenda Standards Standardisation in India Current Position Way Forward Bangalore, India, December

Standards What is a standard? Requirements of user Actual requirement for the intended purpose Quality Quantity Safety & Security Is cost the decisive factor? Do we bother about quality? Quality is commensurate with cost Bangalore, India, December

Need for Standards Ensure conformance to desired requirements Ensure quality Ensure Repeatability for Manufacturer User No compromise, even unknowingly or unwittingly, with Personal safety Personal security Pocket Bangalore, India, December

Telecom Two-way communication Anyone Anytime Anywhere Any Screen Predefined protocols essential for every device Bangalore, India, December

Necessity of standards for telecom devices? Can never be a stand-alone device Have to interwork with other devices Must follow pre-defined protocols for any service or application Conformance for Performance Interoperability EMI/EMC/EMF Safety Security Health No necessity of legislation, as standardisation is ‘the’ only way to ensure performance Bangalore, India, December

Standardisation in India Creation of National Standards Harmonisation of International Standards Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) All products, except telecom Telecom Engineering Centre (TEC) All telecom products Formulates technical requirements Tests and certifies telecom products, interfaces, and networks Telecom arm of DoT Represents Government of India in international telecom bodies Bangalore, India, December

Application of Standards in India No mandatory checks for conformance to standards No mandatory certification before induction in telecom network Products may ‘not’ conform to all the desired specifications May not interwork properly May cause harm to other equipment or user Standardisation promotes, and does not hinder development in telecom Market is mature now Bangalore, India, December

Way Forward Shift focus from urban to rural Bottoms-up approach C-DoT RAX Model Aspirations will guide the developments Rural-centric Network, Equipment, Services, Content, User Interfaces Innovate – Ingenuous designs, conform to standards New services, applications, protocols Affordability Energy/power, environment Capacity building Set-up labs for development and testing of products Train man-power Bangalore, India, December

Mandatory Certification All telecom equipment to be tested and certified before induction in Indian telecom network Minimum parameters to be tested – conformance to standards, user and network safety, and integrity Changes in Telegraph Rules and Licenses to implement the scheme Testing by Conformance Assessment Bodies (CAB) Certification by Certification Body (CB) – TEC Use of Certifying Logo Surveillance Bangalore, India, December

Way Forward for Development of Standards Motivate stakeholders (R&D centres, manufacturers, service providers, academia, users, etc.) to collaborate and channelize R&D activities for development of standards/IPRs for new products and services Involve all academia and R&D centres for telecom products and services Motivate stakeholders to participate in developmental process of standards in national and international forums Participate in National Working Group (NWG) meetings in DoT/TEC to agree upon national stance on a particular standard Participate in International Forums, like ITU, to project ‘national’ standard Bangalore, India, December

Establishment of SDO Establish a national telecom Standards Development Organisation, to focus on the country-specific requirements, especially on rural networks. Draw synergy of all the stakeholders, viz., R&D centres, manufacturers, service providers, academia, users, etc. Drive consensus on the deliverables Focus energies on specific products and services to work on, and evolve Suitable methodologies for transfer-of-technology, manufacturing and commercialisation thereof Suitable mechanism for handling IPRs, without stifling the growth New standards, national requirements, etc. Bangalore, India, December

Development of new Standards and Products Research on a new product or service, based on new specifications Develop prototype Lab testing for conformance, performance, interoperability, etc. Field trial and validation File IPR Validate the new specifications as new standards – TEC Generate revenue for the survival of entire process Manufacturing Commercialisation Deployment Bangalore, India, December

Conclusions & Recommendations Bridge Standardisation Gap Enforce conformance to all standards Enhance R&D and Manufacturing Draw synergy of all stakeholders in development and formulation of standards through national telecom SDO Regularly participate and take proactive stance in international forums to project national perspective Bangalore, India, December

Thank you