WPC Certificate is required to import and sell wireless product in India.
The Wireless Planning Commission, under the governance of the DOT, issues this certificate after checking the operating frequency of the wireless product that needs to be imported.
And that’s where the process gets complicated.
See, there are certain frequency bands. Depending on which frequency bands your product work in, you may, or may not need the ETA license or WPC certificate. However, the government notification of the same has been so convoluted that many tend to apply for the license when they don’t need to. And in other cases, importers for whom the license is importance fail to address its importance.
Thus, through this article, we are going to put into simple terms, the process, the importance and the documents required to import wireless products in India.
What is WPC Certificate?
WPC Certificate is the authorization issued by the WPC under the governance of DOT to import wireless products in India. The authorization is issued on the basis of the following frequency spectrums:
- Delicensed frequency bands: If your product works within that band, ETA license is mandatory
- Unlicensed frequency bands: These are called bands that are free to be used by any product.
- Licensed frequency bands: ETA license is already issued for them. If your product work within then, no certification is required.
What is the procedure to obtain WPC certificate or ETA License in India?
The reason we are using two terms to define the titular certification is that both of them mean the same thing. WPC certificate is literally equipment type approval or ETA license issued to the importer of the wireless product.
Now the justification of SEO-driven drivel out of the way, let’s now discuss the process of obtaining ETA certificate In India.
The procedure is divided into two parts:
- The offline one,
- and the online one.
Let’s discuss the online one first, for it’s the easiest to understand:
- Login to the WPC portal of DOT
- File the application by entering your product details and other necessary information.
- Submit the application and pay the requisite fees
- Download the application and take its printout.
As for the offline process, it is as follows:
- Testing the product: Before you file an online application, you must have in hand the test report of the product you want to import. Thus, first you need to reach out to an independent but NABL accredited lab. Get your product testing for radio frequency emissions and find out its operating frequency.
If it turns your that your product works at licensed or unlicensed frequencies, you won’t need any certification.
- Mailing the hard copies of the document: Test reports, along with other essential documents, have to be sent out to the Wireless Planning Commission. These other essentials include the following:
- Printout of the application form
- COI
- MOA and AOA
- Technical specification of the product.
- Power of attorney authorizing the AIR to file the application on your behalf.
- Sample of the wireless product
3. Analysis of the product: upon receiving your application, the Department shall analyze it. Based on its analysis, it might decide to issue you the license.
Why it’s essential to obtain the WPC certificate?
Other than the obvious legal reason of getting the license, is there a practical reason for it. Yes it is. See, if your product is working at a delicensed frequency band, it means that it’s working at an interfering one.
The interference caused due to your product’s operations can create issues with other wireless products in its vicinity. At the best, these issues might cause a temporary loss of signal, but at the worst, these issues can create havoc against the national defence.
Get Other License: FFMC License
Thus, the WPC certificate is an extremely important authorization overseen by a team of experts. Who understand the impact even a small margin of frequency can have on the wireless communications of the country.
Conclusion
You need to obtain the WPC certificate to import wireless products, but not just for the sake of authorization. Good customer trust is fostered through good products. If your product interferes with other’s functioning, it’s not a good one. It can damage your reputation in various nuanced ways.
Thus, when you get a chance of generating customer trust through certification, you should take it.
And we are giving you that chance, foster trust in your wireless products today by calling Registrationwala.