NCA to set up lab to check imported electronics
The National Communications Authority (NCA) is to establish a laboratory for testing electronic communication equipment imported into the country.
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The aim is to improve on the standardisation of electronic communication equipment in the country.
The Director General of the NCA, Mr William Tevie made this known at a workshop in Accra on ‘Type Approval and Dealership Licensing.’
He said, the laboratory which would ensure that electronic equipment imported into the country met Ghana’s specifications was also expected to serve the West African sub-Region.
Mr Tevie whose speech was read on his behalf by the Director, Regulatory Administration Division, Mr Paul Kofi Datsa, said over the past years, the NCA had undertaken various initiatives in the standardisation space to ensure safety, conformance and interoperability.
He said standards were essential for international communications and global trade and for companies from emerging markets adding that they created a level playing field, providing equal access to markets.
Standards and development
Standards, he said, were also fundamental in assisting developing countries in rolling out infrastructure and encouraging greater levels of social and economic development.
Mr Tevie said the authority per the Electronic Communications Act 775 introduced a type approval regime, which is to ensure that all electronic communication equipment used in the country complied with technical and regulatory requirements.
He said the regime had been designed to facilitate easy access to market, introduce a variety of equipment choice for the consumer, and most importantly, to maintain consumer rights of the quality and safety of the equipment.
He said the NCA understood the pervasive nature of Information Communications Technology (ICT) and the power of technology in transforming the telecommunications industry, adding that technology played a catalytic role in creating opportunities for people in every walk of life.
The NCA, he said, would continue to undertake surveillance to ensure compliance with the type approval regime adding that non-compliance was punishable under the Electronic Communications Act.
Market driven standards
The Head Information Technology of the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA), Mr Stringger Bedu-Addo, in a presentation , said standardisation helped to ensure that standards were to a specifications.
He said standards were not mandatory but market driven noting that a technical committee on telecommunication standards had been set up to help optimise the country’s market share in the industry.
A Senior Manager, legal of the NCA, Mr Robert Apaya said the country had laws which ensured that there were decency in the telecommunication industry.
However, he said most telecommunications equipments came into the country through unapproved roots making it difficult to track them to be confiscated.
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