DoT reportedly extends deadline to phase out old phones
The Department of Telecommunication has reportedly given one more year to mobile manufacturers to conform to the new radiation emission guidelines, and to phase out existing models that do not comply. The existing models that have been introduced on or before August 31, 2012 will be allowed to be in the market for another year.
LiveMint which claims to have a copy of the internal DoT note reveals the department has revised the specific absorption rate or SAR value from the current 2Watts per kg to 1.6W.kg after recommendation of an internal government committee.
The DoT note said that, starting 1 September, “only mobile handsets with revised SAR value of 1.6W/kg would be permitted to be manufactured or imported in India for the domestic market.”
However, as stated earlier, the deadline has been now extended to August 31, 2013 for the existing models. The extension of the deadline was made after various stakeholders sought more clarifications on the new norms.
Pankaj Mohindroo, national president of the Indian Cellular Association lobby group, says the move cannot be dubbed as the extension of the deadline. LivemMint quotes Mohindroo as saying, “This is just keeping in mind the (18-24 month) product life cycle of the existing models. The government has carefully considered the demand and supply position of mobile phones with the revised SAR value, time required to launch new models of mobile phones and phasing out of existing models.”
The report that the DoT has extended the deadline comes days after the Cellular Operators Association of India said that the Indian telecom industry was abiding by the new emission norms proposed by the DoT.
Rajan S Mathews, Director General, COAI is quoted as saying, “Being sensitive to the concerns of the people, the industry voluntarily undertook proactive measures and underwent a massive transition in its network infrastructure which was redesigned significantly to meet the prescribed norms. He further reiterated that considering the scarce spectrum resources available in India compared to the other countries, population density and traffic it was an extremely difficult task in itself.”
The Indian government is quite serious about the radiation emitted by the mobile phones. The DoT in April made it mandatory for to post levels of radiations on phones and retail outlets w.e.f. September 1, 2012. The department has also specified norms for the tower companies, who will provide self-certifications on compliance.
As per the new DoT norms, the SAR value, or the radiation emitted by the handset, should be displayed on the device, manual, the box as well as the websites of both the company and the telecom department.
Source: Live Mint
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