Procedure used in the Dominican Republic for telecommunication equipment homologation and certification

The present document has the Procedure used for Telecommunication Equipment Homologation and Certification in the Dominican Republic . For this purpose, we are quoting below some of the articles of the General Telecommunication Act No. 153-98, whose Articles 2, 61, 62, and 63 provide the mandate for the regulation of the use of telecommunication equipment:

Scope and Objectives

Article 2. Scope of the Law

The present Act constitutes the basic regulatory framework that shall be applied throughout the country’s territory to regulate network installation, maintenance and operation, service delivery, and telecommunication equipment supply. The Act shall be interpreted in accordance with the international agreements ratified by the Dominican Republic and shall be complemented by regulations issued by competent authorities.

Homologation of Equipment and Devices

Article 61. Certificate of homologation

Every terminal, equipment or system capable of being connected directly or indirectly to a public telecommunication network or that uses the public radio domain should have the corresponding homologation certificate. Equipment intended to be operated for radio amateur service is excluded from the granting of the homologation certificate.

Article 62. Issuance of the homologation certificate

Equipment will be considered to have a homologation certificate in the following cases:

a) When a public telecommunication concession holder accepts the connection of the equipment to its network, informing the regulatory body thereof by means of the corresponding lists. This acceptance (self-homologation) shall not involve any authorization to connect the equipment to other public networks.

b) When it has a homologation issued by the competent authorities of a country from the World Numbering Administration Zone 1.

c) When the regulatory body issues it after relevant technical testing by a specialized third-party, whether domestic or foreign, duly authorized by the regulatory body for this purpose. Nevertheless, the equipment that is aimed at or is capable of using the radio spectrum should have the corresponding homologation certificated obtained by this procedure.

Article 63. Marketing of equipment

For the marketing in the country of any telecommunication equipment or device, the corresponding homologation certificate shall be an indispensable prerequisite.

New regulation for equipment homologation and certification shall be ready in the fourth quarter of 2006 for the purpose of:

• Establishing procedures and rules to issue the certification.

• Drawing up the procedures that are applicable so that domestic and foreign technical institutions can conduct the certification of local and imported equipment and devices.

• Drafting the prerequisites for the certifying bodies.

How are we authorizing the use of equipment and devices?

Until the procedures are ready, INDOTEL applies paragraph (b) of Article 62 of the General Telecommunication Act when it has a homologation issued by the competent authorities of a country from the World Numbering Administration 1.

Rafael Fernández
Gerente de Concesiones y Licencias
INDOTEL