In November 2023, the Tanzania Communications Authority (TCRA) published a new version of the Type Approval Guidelines for Electronic Communications Equipment in accordance with the Electronic and Postal Communications Act 2022 Amendment and the Postal Communications (Electronic) Communication Equipment Standards and E-Waste Management Regulations, 2020.

Communications equipment manufacturers, importers, and suppliers ensure that their equipment goes through TCRA's type approval process before it is imported into the United Republic of Tanzania for sale or use. The objectives of the guidelines are to streamline the type approval process in Tanzania under the Act and Regulations, and to develop and align the type approval process with international best practices.

Some of the changes to the new program are summarized below:

• The type approval application should be submitted using the new online type approval system platform, 
• and the applicant should confirm whether the type has been approved through the "Tanzanite" portal database before submitting the application. For models that have already been type-approved, there is no need to re-type-approve the equipment,
• and for all set-top boxes and terminal electronic communication equipment (ECE) connected to a cellular network, samples need to be submitted to the Authority for testing or evaluation. Other equipment is only to be submitted as a sample upon request, 
• and the modular type approval is defined as the host product or the equipment itself should be type approved. If it is intended to be imported separately, the module should be type-approved,
• and definition of software approval: If the device model hosting the particular software is to be type-approved, taking into account the applicable requirements. Where applicable, TCRA may require the manufacturer or type approval applicant to provide information about the security of the software to prevent unauthorized software changes that may alter the operating parameters of the device;
• The TCRA label should be like the following example. The font family should be Arial the the minimum font size should be 5. Elabel is allowed.

Click this link to view the original text of TCRA's new Type Approval Guide for Electronic Communication Equipment.

On December 14, 2023, the Brazilian National Telecommunications Agency (ANATEL) issued announcements numbered No.463/2023/ORCN/SOR-ANATEL and No.464/2023/ORCN/SOR-ANATEL, postponing the timing of the laboratory's accreditation to December 14, 2024:

• Ato 7971 "Technical Requirements for Approval and Assessment of IPv6 Protocol Compliance in Telecommunications Products" published on June 22, 2023. As the requirements of Ato 7971 are consistent with the IPv6 evaluation requirements of existing telecommunications products, ORCN, the certification and number management agency responsible for ANATEL, has recognized ipv6 test qualified laboratories which support Technical Requirements List - Class I to implement ato 7971 testing for a period of 1 year until the laboratory is accredited per Ato 7971;
• Ato 17087 "Technical Requirements for Approval of Electrical Safety in Conformity Assessment of Telecommunications Products" issued on December 19, 2022 Since the requirements of Ato 17087 are consistent with the requirements of the existing Ato 950, ANATEL allows laboratories with the original Ato 950 qualification to test according to Ato 17087 for a period of 1 year until the laboratory obtains the qualification of Ato 17087. ANATEL also subsequently released No.466/ 2023/ORCN/SOR-ANATEL announcement is only an errata to Announcement No. 463. In addition, ANATEL has announced that it will waive the obligation of visual inspection of product labelling by laboratories until March 27, 2024.

Click this link to view No.463/2023/ORCN/SOR-ANATEL, click this link to view No.464/2023/ORCN/SOR-ANATEL.

On December 13, 2023, the Albanian Electronic Postal Communications Authority (AKEP) issued Decision No. 721/2023 amending Decision No. 378 of the Technical Regulations on the Conformity Assessment Procedure for Radio Equipment. This technical regulation specifies the minimum requirements that radio equipment must meet before it can be placed on the market, distributed and put into service. The Decision makes a number of amendments, mainly including:

• Article 10(9): Radio equipment within the scope of the regulation must be accompanied by a description which must contain information about the charging function of the equipment. The information must also be provided on the label in the format specified in Part IV of Annex I/1. The label must be printed on the instruction manual or affixed to the package. In the absence of packaging, adhesives can be used to attach the label to the radio equipment. The label must be clearly visible, and for devices sold online, the label must be placed close to the price;
• Ariticles 12(4) and 13(2): When providing radio equipment to consumers and other end users, importers and distributors must respectively ensure that: a) the radio equipment has or is being equipped with a label that complies with Article 10 (9) of these Rules;  b) The label is displayed in a visible and legible manner and, in the case of distance selling, the label has been placed close to the price indicator;
• and Article 21(3): Albanian language is replaced by the official language of the country where the authority/Notified Body is located or a language that is easily understood by the authority/Notified Body.

The decision enters into force from the date of publication in the Official Gazette on December 19, 2023. Click on this link to view the original decision.

On December 5, 2023, the Argentine National Communications Agency (ENACOM) issued Resolution 2097/2023 that devices supporting 5G NR can now be approved in Argentina. This regulation will take effect from the date of publication of the official announcement on December 7, 2023.

In addition, the resolution also publishes the new technical standard ENACOM-Q2-61.03 V23.1 version. Main changes:

• Allows approval of devices using 5G NR n the n78 band: 3300 – 3700 MHz, and
• Updates local technical standards to add Chapter 5 of 5G NR.

The new standard will provide a 90-day transition period (until March 6, 2024) during which ENACOM-Q2-61.03 V17.1 will still be available. In addition, foreign test reports (FCC, RED, ANATEL, etc.) can be recognized, and the self-declaration of conformity (DoC) of the country of origin can be recognized until two local laboratories are authorized to carry out 5G NR Chapter V tests.

Click on this link to view the original resolution.

On 1 December 2023, the European Commission published Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2023/2669 amending the implementing decision (EU) 2022/2191 on harmonised standards for wireless communication devices used at or near the human body.

The harmonized standards EN 50360:2017/A1:2023 and EN 50566:2017/A1:2023 are used to cover the essential requirements set out in Article 3 of the Directive. The original EN 50360:2017 and EN 50566:2017 can be used until 1 June 2025.

Click on this link to view the original implementation decision.

On December 1, 2023, Mexico's Federal Telecommunications Institute (IFT) launched the following public consultations:

• Preliminary draft of technical provisions IFT-016-2023 "Low-power radiocommunication equipment: equipment using the radio spectrum frequency bands in the range of 30 MHz to 3 GHz – Specifications, limits and test methods";
• Preliminary Draft Technical Regulations IFT-017-2023: Radiocommunication Systems Using Wireless Access – Wireless Local Area Networks – Radiocommunication equipment using digital modulation techniques and operating in the frequency bands 5150 MHz-5250 MHz, 5250 MHz-5350 MHz, 5470 MHz -5600 MHz, 5650 MHz-5725 MHz, 5725 MHz-5850 MHz and 5925 MHz-6425 MHz.

The two public consultations, which were originally scheduled to close on 29 January 2024, have been extended to 29 March 2024. Click this link to access the draft IFT-016-2023, click this link to accesses draft IFT-017-2023.

On November 29, 2023, Paraguay's National Telecommunications Commission (CONATEL) issued Decree No. 3171/2023 specifying the requirements for assessing the compliance of cellular mobile devices. The decree specifies that cellular mobile devices adopt 3GPP and ETSI related standards, including 3GPP TS 51.010-1, ETSI TS 134 121-1, ETSI TS 136 521-1, ETSI TS 138 521-1, ETSI TS 138 521-2, ETSI TS 138 521-3, etc.

Click this link to view the original resolution.

This regulation applies to the following types of short-range radio equipment (SRDs):

a) Universal short-range radio equipment operating in the frequency range of 9 kHz to 25 MHz;

b) Magnetic field devices operating in the frequency range from 9 kHz to 30 MHz, including: radio frequency identification devices (RFID), devices using Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, and electronic security system (EAS) devices operating in the LF and HF bands in the operating environment.

This regulation applies to products and goods with short-range radio equipment with HS codes as specified in Annex J of the standard.

All short-range radio equipment specified in this regulation must comply with Vietnam's regulations on frequency planning and channel allocation.

The above types of radio equipment operate in the 9 kHz to 30 MHz band under the following conditions:

• There is a radio output connection with a stand-alone antenna or an integrated antenna,
• all types of modulation are used,
• and fixed, mobile, and handheld devices are used.

Click this link to view the original text of Notice No. 17/2023/TT-BTTTT and the original text of QCVN 55:2023/BTTTT standard.

• New and updated standards:
  • QCVN 117:2023/BTTTT, which replaces QCVN 117:2020/BTTTT for WWAN devices
  • QCVN 55:2023/BTTTT, which replaces QCVN 55:2011/BTTTT for SRD
  • QCVN 132:2022/BTTTT on the security of tablets, laptops, desktop computers, TVs, set-top boxes, DECT phones;
  • QCVN 110:2023/BTTTT, which replaces QCVN 110:2017/BTTTT for E-UTRA base stations
  • QCVN 111:2023/BTTTT, which replaces QCVN 110:2017/BTTTT for E-UTRA repeaters
• Reinstatement of extreme test condition requirements for some of the QCVN standards that were suspended in accordance with Notice No. 10/2023/TT-BTTTT;
• QCVN 124:2021/BTTTT will not apply to automotive radars, and QCVN 18:2022/BTTTT will apply to automotive radars;
• Wireless chargers with HS codes 8504.40.19 and 8504.40.90 will no longer need to meet QCVN 55 and will instead be based on QCVN 96:2015/BTTTT;
• QCVN 47:2015/BTTTT will replace a large number of QCVN standards for maritime products that cannot be tested locally
• TVs using the same chassis can share test reports for the SDoC process for QCVN 63:2020/BTTTT;
• QCVN 128:2021/BTTTT for 5G NR base stations does not require testing under performance requirements and extreme conditions.

The draft circular is expected to take effect on 1 April 2024. Click link to view the original announcement.

On November 21, 2023, the Brazilian National Telecommunications Agency (ANATEL)  published the official letter 429/2023/ORCN/ SOR-ANATEL. The letter formalizes ANATEL's requirement that all test reports, whether done in Brazil or abroad, must follow and meet the requirements of Act 4083, including traceability information.

Under Act No. 7280, ANATEL accepts reports from foreign laboratories for certain products, such as non-RF network switches, optical line terminals (OLTs), digital multiplexers, coaxial cables, certain types of fiber optic cables, satellite transceivers, etc., for business/industrial use. Section 6.3.1.5 of Act 4083 stipulates that before starting testing, the manufacturer or applicant must formally communicate the following information to the Designated Certification Body (OCD):

• the manufacturing unit that produced the sample, and
• the traceability of the sample submitted for testing.

According to the requirements of the letter, from now on foreign laboratories must be approved by the OCD before they can begin testing.

Click on this link to view the original official letter.