Based on current regulations, various types of telecommunications and ICT devices are required to obtain type approval certification before entering and being marketed in Philippines. Therefore, it is important for manufacturers to understand the type approval certification process for telecommunications and ICT devices in Philippines. The National Telecommunications Commission or NTC is a regulatory body for telecommunications and ICT devices in Philippines. Therefore, the type approval certification for Philippines is also known as NTC certification.
In this article we will discuss all about Philippines NTC certification process especially for telecommunications and ICT devices need to be marketed in Philippines.
Type approval certification in Philippines
Before manufacturers importing their telecommunications devices to Philippines, they need to prepare type approval certification of their telecommunications devices first. In Philippines, the conformity certification for telecommunications and ICT devices is managed by National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).
NTC is a government agency responsible for performing the regulatory and control functions over all telecommunications, broadcast, and radiocommunication facilities in Philippines. Therefore, type approval certification for telecommunications and ICT devices in Philippines is also known as NTC certification.
Philippines NTC certification has essentially divided the type approval certification under three classification schemes of the NTC Office, which are RCE, CPE, and GEC. Here are the different of each classification schemes for Philippines NTC certification:
- Radio Communications Equipment (RCE): This classification is for radio communications equipment with radio frequency features includes Bluetooth, Wifi, wireless charging, and other short-range device (SRD) features.
- Customer Premises Equipment (CPE): This classification is for customer premises equipment and used to access public telecommunications networks includes GPON/EPON devices, analog telephones, and fax machines.
- Grant Equipment Conformity (GEC): This classification is for telecommunications devices exhibit both RCE and CPE functionalities includes smartphones, 2G/3G/4G LTE/5G NR wireless access points, and WWAN-enabled SRDs.
Requirements of NTC certification
Local testing is not mandatory for NTC certification, and also the available options to process Philippines NTC certification is through a paperwork method only. It means that NCT certification can be done by just submitting test reports from foreign laboratories. Here is list of the required documents for NTC certification under paperwork method:
- Application form specified by NTC Office
- Letter of Authorization (LoA)
- Declaration of product specification including photos, description, and RF features
- Manufacturer’s declaration of conformity
- Application form
- RF test report
- EMC test report
- Safety test report
Applicants of NTC certification
The Philippines NTC certification is one of the few countries in Southeast Asia that still allows foreign companies to become certificate holders of the type approval certificates. This is certainly helpful, especially for manufacturers who still do not have a local company or representative in the Philippines.
The NTC certificates will identify both the manufacturer and the applicant in the final version. In many cases, the applicant and manufacturer are mostly the same entity. However, the NTC Office also allows for different entities to act as applicants.
Lead time of NTC certification
The lead time of Philippines NTC certification is estimated around 20-25 working days. Please note that the actual issuance of the final certificates may be subject to delays due to any of the following factors:
- Confirmation and verification of test reports by the designated issuing laboratory.
- Volume of pending applications at the NTC.
- Public holidays or government-declared work suspensions.
- Force majeure events, such as typhoons, flooding, earthquakes, civil unrest, or other emergencies declared by the authorities.
Label requirements of NTC certification
Based on Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 02-01-2001, the physical labelling requirements are mandatory for telecommunications devices under CPE and GEC classifications. The MC 02-01-2001 also excludes physical labeling requirements for devices under RCE classification.
Regarding the electronic label (E-label), even though the NTC Office has allowed the use of E-label, but it cannot substitute for the physical label. This is due to the continuing applicability of MC 02-01-2001, which mandates physical label. So, physical labels are still required even if the device already used E-label.
After Philippines NTC certificates are issued, the telecommunications devices must be marked with NTC labels based on applicable formats below.
- ESD: Abrreviated name in English of Equipment Standards Division
- CPE, RCE, GEC: NTC product classification schemes
- xxxxxxx: Certification number (7 digits)
Validity of NTC certificates
Philippines NTC certificates can be valid permanently as long as no modifications are made to the RF specifications of the equipment. Modification on RF specifications may affect the product compliance to NTC standards or technical requirements.
Modifications are allowed only if the requested changes do not affect the RF specifications of the equipment. NTC certificates can be modified without altering its original Certificate Number. Following are three categories of NTC certificates modifications:
- Change in applicant’s name or address
- Change in type or model of equipment
- Change in manufacturer’s name
Example of NTC certificates
In the NTC certificates, several information related to the telecommunication device, manufacturer, and applicant will be mentioned. Below is an example of Philippines NTC certificates for telecommunications devices.
Conclusion
Navigating Philippines type approval certification is not easy, there are many things we need to know and prepare before starting the whole process. Usually, some manufacturers also face difficulty to navigate Philippines type approval especially because they have limited knowledge and language barriers to the whole process.
To avoid these issues happening, the existence of a type approval service partner is important for manufacturers. You can consult with our expert team about Philippines NTC certification by drop an email to info@narmadi.com for further assistance.
