The National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA) of Egypt has updated its type approval procedures for radiofrequency and telecommunications equipment.

There are two types of approval schemes defined in the new procedure:

• Acceptance of CE or FCC reports from accredited laboratories by NTRA.
• Verification of Compliance Certificate (VoC) at one of the NTRA accredited test labs.

The VoC procedure requires sample testing according to the European applicable CE harmonized standards.

The following criteria are required for acceptance of accredited reports:

• The manufacturer has ISO 17025 accreditation in EMC and Safety; or
• The factory is not in China or India; or
• The factory is in China or India but the manufacturer is NOT, and the manufacturer has ISO9001 accreditation in Design/manufacturing scope

Otherwise, VoC applies in the following cases:

• The factory is in China or Asia, and
• The manufacturer is in China or Asia, or
• The manufacturer is outside China or Asia but does not have ISO9001 accreditation

The new rules apply to all radiofrequency and telecommunications equipment used in Egypt including:

Communication equipment

• Indoor/Outdoor communication apparatus
• Wired IT communication apparatus
• Wireless IT communication apparatus

Telecom Terminal equipment

• All types of telephone sets
• Fax machines (Voice Connection Units)
• Card/Payphone sets
• All types of public/private exchange equipment
• GSM mobile stations & handsets

Radio transmitter/receiver communications apparatus

• Radio transmit/receive equipment
• Satellite communications equipment
• Cordless telephone sets
• Radars