Standards Adoption Policy

Standards Adoption Policy

Adoption of TSDSI/ International Telecom Standards

We are fast moving in the field of intense cross sector use of telecom and related ICT sector namely Smart City, Intelligent Transport System, Agriculture, Disaster Management, Healthcare, Education etc. with the advent of new technologies like 5G, Internet of Things (IOT), Big Data (data analytics), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine learning, Cloud computing etc. A lot of telecom and ICT standards are being developed by various domestic/international standardisation organisations which need to be adopted into national standards by including the national requirements in these standards.

Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC) under Department of Telecommunications (DOT) is a Standards Setting Organization (SSO). TEC formulates new standards/ specifications (GR/IR/SR/ER) for telecom and related ICT sector in India. TEC has initiated the adoption of standards of domestic/ international standards like TSDSI, oneM2M, 3GPP etc. by incorporating the national requirement (human health, safety, security, environment protection, geographical and climatic conditions etc.) and national priorities. As per the licence conditions of Unified licence, TEC standards should be used by the Telecom Service Providers (TSP) in the telecom networks. In absence of TEC standards, standards of international Standards organizations recognised by TEC can be used as an interim measure. Hence, need was felt to adopt the domestic/international standards into national standards use in India.

A policy document called ‘Standardization Guide’ based on ISO/IEC Guide 21-1 has been prepared by TEC outlining the adoption process and institutional mechanism for adoption of domestic/international telecom standards’ after approval of Hon’ble Minister of Communications. It has further been notified by TEC vide Office Memorandum No. 2-1/2018/SD/TSDSI/TEC/5 dated 8th May 2020.

The main points of the Standardization Guide are as given below

1. TEC will adopt the standards after wide public consultation process instead of ratification (ratification doesn’t include public consultation).

2. For adoption, ISO/IEC-Guide 21 has been used as guiding document.

3. The standards should be adopted by TEC as National Standards. National Standards adopted shall be voluntary unless made mandatory by its use, reference or adoption by regulation / Govt. directive.

4. TEC shall implement the standard adoption process with the help of institutional frame work which will consist of:

  • Telecom Standards Advisory Committee (TSAC)
  • Consultative Committees (CC)
  • Task Force (TF) setup for the purpose.
  • Standardization Secretariat

5. The adoption process will be completed in time bound manner after circulation of the draft.

6. IPR shall not be subject matter of adoption.

7. Telecom Standards Advisory Committee (TSAC) is the apex committee to be headed by DDG (S), TEC and comprising members from TEC, CDOT, TSDSI, Govt. bodies, OEMs, TSPs, Academia, R&D organizations etc. (max 11 members), with following functions:

  • To examine, evaluate and endorse standards
  • To oversee & review the standardization program
  • To strategize and prioritize standardization activities
  • To advise TEC on standardization policies, strategies and best practices
  • To collaborate with other standard formulating bodies

8. Consultative Committee (CC) is the Working Group (es, OEMs, TSPs, Academia, R&D organizations etc. (min 10 members) with Chairman from the concerned TEC division and Vice chairs reject public comments.

9. Standardization Secretariat under Standardization division invite the public comments; then collation it and submit for approval.

The TSDSI transposed oneM2M (Release 2) standards and 3GPP standards (402 nos.) -- same as ITU R M.2012 Rev4 have been approved for adoption as national standards by TEC. Similarly, the process of adoption of TSDSI Common Public Radio Interface (CPRI) Front haul transport standards into National Standards is underway.

S.No. Document Date of Issue Download
1 TEC Office Memorandum on Policy for adoption of domestic/international standards by TEC Standardization Guide 08.05.2020 Click here
2 Standardization Guide 01.03.2017 Click here
3 Adoption of TSDSI transposed 3GPP standards (same as Recommendations ITU-R.M. 2012-4) as National Standards by TEC 08.09.2020 Click here
4 Adoption of TSDSI transposed OneM2M (Release 2) specifications as National Standards by TEC 17.09.2020 Click here
5 Adoption of TSDSI transposed OneM2M (Release 3) specifications as National Standards by TEC 01.08.2022 Click here
6 Adoption of 3GPP Release-15 & Release-16 standard into National Standards 03.08.2022 Click here
7 Adoption of 3GPP specifications (Release 10 to Release 16) related to LTE-Advanced corresponding to ITU – R M.2012 Rev. 5. standard into National Standards 03.08.2022 Click here
8 Adoption of TSDSI Transposed 3GPP Release-17 Standards into National Standards by TEC 10.01.2023 Click here
Download Standards
OneM2M (Rel 2) Standards OneM2M (Rel 3) Standards  
3GPP (Rel 10 - Rev 4) Standards 3GPP (Rel 10 - Rev 5) Standards  
3GPP (Rel 11 - Rev 4) Standards 3GPP (Rel 11 - Rev 5) Standards  
3GPP (Rel 12 - Rev 4) Standards 3GPP (Rel 12 - Rev 5) Standards  
3GPP (Rel 13 - Rev 4) Standards 3GPP (Rel 13 - Rev 5) Standards  
3GPP (Rel 14 - Rev 4) Standards 3GPP (Rel 14 - Rev 5) Standards  
3GPP (Rel 15 - Rev 4) Standards 3GPP (Rel 15 - Rev 5) Standards 3GPP (Rel 15) Security Standards
3GPP (Rel 16 - Rev 4) Standards 3GPP (Rel 16 - Rev 5) Standards 3GPP (Rel 16) Security Standards
3GPP (Rel 17) Transposed Specifications