Introduction
Testing and certification are expensive procedures for exporters, importers and regulators that increase the cost to users and delays the availability of products in a large number of markets.M
All stakeholders benefit from simplified procedures that can reduce these costs. At the same time, regulators need to have confidence in the quality of testing that provides the basis for certification of equipment.
In June 1998, the APEC¨ç Telecommunications and Information Ministers agreed to streamline APEC-wide processes for the testing and type-approval of telecommunications equipment.
This landmark arrangement, the Mutual Recognition Arrangement for Conformity Assessment of Telecommunications Equipment (APEC TEL MRA), was the first multilateral agreement of its type in the world.
It will remove a significant barrier to what is projected to be a US$60 billion industry by 2010.
Its scope includes all equipment subject to telecommunication regulations, including wireline and wireless, terrestrial and satellite equipment. For such equipment, the MRA covers electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) and electrical safety aspects as well as purely telecommunications aspects of the conformity assessment requirements. ¨è
¨ç APEC - Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation. Since its formation in 1989, APEC has expanded to become the primary vehicle for promoting trade liberalization and economic cooperation in the Asia Pacific Region. APEC is committed to "open regionalism", striving for regional trade and investment liberalization as a building block to strengthen the multilateral trading system and expand the global economy.
¨è Equipment, which is intended to be connected behind devices providing adequate network protection for a Public Telecommunications Network, will be excluded by the Parties from the scope of equipment certification as it applies to network terminal attachment.
