Pakistan Telecom Equipment Certification: PTA 2024 Rules

Pakistan Telecom Equipment Certification Overhaul: PTA Enforces the Telecommunication Equipment Standards Regulations, 2024

Pakistan has moved its device authorization regime onto a formal, standards based footing. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has notified the Telecommunication Equipment Standards Regulations, 2024 through SRO 1110(I)/2026, issued by the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT) under the Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organization) Act, 1996, with Federal Government approval. The regulations came into force immediately upon their publication in the official Gazette of Pakistan.

For the first time, Pakistan has a single, enforceable framework prescribing the technical standards and testing procedures that telecommunication equipment must satisfy before it can be manufactured, imported, sold, or deployed in the country. The instrument applies across the full supply chain to licensees, manufacturers, and importers alike and closes a long standing gap that allowed equipment to enter the market without structured technical oversight.

Note on the name: the "2024" in the title reflects the year the regulations were framed; they were notified in 2026 via SRO 1110(I)/2026 after clearing the Cabinet's Economic Coordination Committee and Law and Justice Division review. Read this as a 2026 market access change, not a two year old rule.

Why Pakistan Telecom Equipment Certification Now Depends on International Standards

Rather than authoring bespoke national specifications, PTA has anchored the framework to internationally recognized standards. According to the notification and PTA's public communications, the adopted references include work from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU / ITU-T), the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC), CISPR, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the European Union's Radio Equipment Directive (RED) and harmonised EN standards, and OHSAS for occupational health and safety.

The regulations set technical benchmarks across a broad device landscape including GSM, LTE, UMTS, Wi-Fi, GPS, RFID, NFC, microwave systems, base stations, and satellite communication devices and formally define core concepts such as electromagnetic compatibility (EMC), radio frequency (RF), fixed wireless access, and satellite communication devices so the compliance ecosystem operates on consistent terminology.

The mandatory technical requirements are grouped into several areas:

• Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC)

• Electrical, health, and user safety

• Optical and laser safety

• Radio frequency and radio communications performance

• Mobile, fixed wireless, satellite, and terrestrial telecommunication equipment

  
  

Because Pakistan is a device authorization jurisdiction, this is squarely a type approval / certification instrument it creates new, enforceable device authorization obligations, in contrast to a spectrum allocation measure that would not by itself alter equipment authorization duties.

The Certificate of Compliance (CoC) Mechanism

The operative requirement for manufacturers and importers is the Certificate of Compliance (CoC). Applicants must submit CoC applications supported by test reports issued by accredited laboratories that meet the prescribed international standards. All testing must conform to the standards specified by PTA; where no specific benchmark has been prescribed for a given technology, the Authority may adopt additional standards.

Three further provisions materially affect compliance operations:

• Binding directives. All PTA directives, notifications, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and orders are legally binding on stakeholders so operative detail can be issued below the level of the regulations themselves and still carry force.

• Record keeping. Licensees, manufacturers, and importers must maintain updated records of telecommunication equipment for at least three years and produce them to PTA on request.

• Enforcement. Authorized PTA officers are empowered to oversee compliance and enforcement. PTA has stood up a dedicated Standards and Conformance Assurance Directorate to define testing methodologies, and reserves the right to review and update the standards periodically in consultation with stakeholders.

  
  

What This Means for Manufacturers

For any manufacturer, brand owner, or importer placing wireless or ICT equipment into the Pakistani market, the practical implications are immediate:

• Certification is now a documented, standards referenced process, not a formality. Market access hinges on a CoC supported by accredited laboratory test reports mapped to the specific international standards PTA recognizes for your device class. Test evidence assembled for FCC, EU RED/ETSI, or IEC/ISO conformity is directly relevant and can often be leveraged but it must be packaged to PTA's CoC requirements rather than assumed to transfer automatically.

• Local assembly is not exempt. Domestically manufactured devices must meet the same international standards as imported equipment. Manufacturers running local assembly lines in Pakistan should treat their output as in scope and plan conformity accordingly.

• Accredited lab test reports are the currency. Confirm that your test house's accreditation and the standards it tests to satisfy PTA's prescribed references for your product category. Gaps here are the most common cause of CoC delays.

• Documentation control matters more than before. The three year record keeping duty and the binding status of PTA SOPs mean your technical file, test reports, and any subsequent PTA directives must be retained and retrievable on demand.

• Watch for downstream SOPs. Because directives and SOPs are legally binding, the detailed procedural rules (fees, submission format, category specific standard lists, transition handling) may arrive as separate PTA notifications. Track PTA's Standards and Conformance Assurance Directorate outputs closely.

  
  

Certification Impact Summary

Dimension	Position under the Telecommunication Equipment Standards Regulations, 2024
Instrument type	Type approval / device authorization (creates new certification obligations)
Legal basis	Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organization) Act, 1996; notified via SRO 1110(I)/2026 by MoITT
Who is in scope	Licensees, manufacturers, importers imported and locally assembled equipment
Core requirement	Certificate of Compliance (CoC) supported by accredited laboratory test reports
Standards basis	ITU/ITU-T, ETSI, ISO, IEC, CENELEC, CISPR, FCC, EU RED, EN, OHSAS
Device coverage	EMC, RF, electrical/health/user safety, optical & laser safety; GSM, LTE, UMTS, Wi-Fi, GPS, RFID, NFC, microwave, base stations, satellite devices
Record-keeping	Equipment records retained ≥ 3 years; producible to PTA on request
Enforcement	Authorized PTA officers; Standards and Conformance Assurance Directorate
Transition / grandfathering	Regulations came into force immediately on publication; no transition window stated in secondary sources
Relationship to existing PTA Type Approval	Complements/underpins PTA's established Type Approval regime with a formal standards + CoC layer

Timeline and Required Actions

Date	Event
2024	Regulations framed as the "Telecommunication Equipment Standards Regulations, 2024"
Early/mid 2025	Draft finalized after Law & Justice Division review; awaiting ECC / Cabinet approval; PTA establishes Standards and Conformance Assurance Directorate
2026	Notified via SRO 1110(I)/2026 by MoITT; in force immediately on Gazette publication
Ongoing	PTA may review/update standards and issue binding SOPs and directives

Required actions for manufacturers and importers:

1. Confirm scope. Identify which of your SKUs (imported and locally assembled) fall within the covered device classes.

2. Map standards. For each device class, map the applicable PTA-recognized international standards to your existing conformity evidence and identify gaps.

3. Verify your test house. Ensure test reports come from accredited laboratories whose accreditation and tested standards satisfy PTA's CoC requirements.

4. Prepare CoC submissions. Assemble application dossiers with accredited-lab test reports against the prescribed standards; sequence submissions by launch priority.

5. Stand up record keeping. Implement retention of equipment records for at least three years, retrievable on PTA request.

6. Monitor PTA outputs. Track directives, notifications, and SOPs from PTA particularly any category specific standard lists, fee schedules, and transition guidance since these are legally binding.