Sierra Leone’s NATCOM has released a draft ECE type approval rule for 2019.
This provision applies to:
– Licensed telecommunications operators to import ECE devices for use in telecommunication networks.
– Trading company or individual importing ECE devices for sale and distribution purposes.
– Foreign parties such as manufacturers or agents selling ECE devices in Sierra Leone.
As a rule, All ECEs must be exempt from type approval or type approval by NATCOM.
Once a device is type approved, the same model of the device does not need to be type approved and all registered models can be found in the Type Approval Register, which NATCOM will keep.
Therefore, if a model is marked in the register, a qualified dealer can import the model without reapplying the type approval procedure.
However, the list that can be sold or imported in the Sierra Leone area is limited to:
1. Radio Frequency Spectrum Scanning Receivers
2. Military Communication Equipment
3. Telephone Voice Changing Equipment
4. Automatic Call Diverters
5. Radio-communication Equipment operating in GSM frequency bands except Cellular Mobile Phones or such other equipment approved by the Commission(e.g., SIM Box Detecters)
6. Radio-communication Jamming Devices operating in any frequency band
7. Analogue TV Transmitters (starting from 2021)
8. TV sets with Analogue Tuners only (starting from 2021)
There are two ways to obtain a type approval certificate:
– Type Acceptance procedure
– Type Approval procedure
In the first case, prior regulatory approval is required. This means that the equipment must already have adequate evidence from a national regulatory body or conformity assessment body accredited by NATCOM and comply with relevant standards.
NATCOM only recognizes the following standards from standardization / type approval authorities:
– Sierra Leone Standards Bureau (SLSB)
– Federal Communications commission (FCC)
– International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
– European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI)
– Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering (IEEE)
– Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA)
– American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
– IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force)
– Industry Canada (IC)
– Infocomm Development Authority in Singapore