New standards body must approve all telecoms imports

A NEW body has been created to take control of maintaining the standards of imported telecommunications equipment. Previously almost all electrical/electronic goods imported to this country had to prove that their standards complied with those laid down by the SA Bureau of Standards (SABS) which then issued a letter of authority approving these specific goods. But a notice published in the Government Gazette late last year gave birth to ICASA - the Independent Communications Authority of SA. "All telecoms equipment now needs to be type approved by us," ICASA's Mortimer Hope told FTW. This, he added, means that imported equipment must comply with the International Electro-technical Commission (IEC) standard - IEC 60950. But the approval procedure has also been somewhat simplified, according to Hope. "All we at ICASA need is a test report from any accredited laboratory," he told FTW. "And this result no longer needs to be submitted to SABS." However, importers are reminded that most other electrical/electronic goods must still conform to SABS standards - and that SABS letters of authority are specific to individual product models. If you need further information on telecoms equipment imports, you can contact Mortimer Hope at ICASA on telephone number: (011) 321-8316.