Mobiles imported for R&D to follow specific absorption rate rules

KOLKATA: Mobile handsets being imported into India purely for R&D work, and not for sale, would also have to conform to the country’s radiation rules, a decision which threatens to hold up testing activity, and in turn, delay smartphone and feature phone launches in the near future.

Cellphone radiation varies from handset to handset and is measured in terms of its specific absorption rate (SAR) value -- the count that specifies the amount of radio waves absorbed by the body when using a mobile phone.

The telecom department (DoT) has mandated handset makers to ensure that the SAR value of all imported phones used for testing and R&D work is a maximum 1.6 watts per kg, says an internal note seen by ET.

Although only a fraction of the 15 million-odd handsets imported every month are used for R&D work and testing, cellphone makers fear the latest DoT stricture could derail future product launches as it is technically impossible to apply SAR norms on phones used in R&D work like testing, experts say.

“We will take up the matter with DoT. Regulatory dispensations should be based on reality and no regulation should be imposed on mobiles used for testing and R&D work,” said Pankaj Mohindroo, national president of Indian Cellular Association (ICA), the apex industry body representing handset makers Nokia, Samsung, Sony, Lava, Karbonn and Micromax, amongst others.

He said that mandating SAR compliance on imported handsets used in testing could hold up mobile phone launches in future. A top executive of a leading European handset maker said that testing phones are stripped down versions and not meant for customer interface. “They are primarily used in R&D labs which are equipped to handle higher levels of radiation”.

According to him, every vendor needs testing phones across handset models to check a new device’s network worthiness, its emission levels or its versatility in running diverse apps before an India launch. Any regulatory deterrent will hold up crucial pre-launch device trials.

Last year, the government had threatened to ban import of mobile phones that don’t display their radiation emission levels. Under the new handset emission rules, the radiation limit for imported handsets is a SAR value of 1.6 watts per kg. But handset makers had urged the government to exempt imported mobile devices used for R&D and testing from these emission rules.