Legal Document

National Communications Authority (NCA) is the regulatory body for the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in Somalia. The NCA was established under the communications act of 2017 (the Act).

In accordance with article 59 of the Act, NCA has the statutory duty to ensure that no substandard Radio and Telecommunications Terminal Equipment (RTTE) is operated in Somalia. NCA fulfills this function by requiring that all RTTEs are type approved before being marketed or used in Somalia.

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2. TYPE APPROVAL IN SOMALIA

Type Approval is defined as the process by which an RTTE is certified by the NCA to be used in Somalia. It involves verification of an RTTE to make sure it complies with the applicable international standards and essential requirements.

NCA Type Approves RTTE on the basis of the make and model. Once RTTE is type approved, the same model of equipment can be imported in Somalia without having to apply for another Type Approval. NCA will publish on its website a Type Approval Register containing the RTTEs that are approved. The main goal of the type approval is to confirm that all RTTEs which are used in Somalia comply with the applicable technical standards recognized by the NCA in order to:

a. Ensure environmental safety and health of users of the RTTE;

b. Avoid interference to other radio communications networks;

c. Prevent damage or interruption to interconnected networks;

d. Guarantee effective use of the frequency spectrum;

e. Facilitate the availability of quality equipment to consumers and operators;

f. Promote interoperability between communications networks;

This document provides step-by-step guide to applicants that wish to obtain Type Approval for a RTTE, describing in detail the documents needed and the process to follow. The Type Approval Guidelines apply to all RTTEs imported to Somalia, whether for marketing or commercial purposes or for private use, and apply to any Person that is the initial or first point of supply of the RTTE in Somalia.

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3. EQUIPMENT THAT REQUIRE TYPE APPROVAL

Any Telecommunications apparatus that is either radio equipment or telecommunications terminal equipment, or both (such as a mobile phone handset) which connects directly to a Public Telecommunications Network and / or which is an intentional transmitter of radio waves is subject to type approval by the NCA. Such equipment is referred to collectively as Radio and Telecommunications Terminal Equipment (RTTE).

Radio and Telecommunications Terminal Equipment that require Type Approval include (but are not limited to):

Terminal Equipment
- Mobile handsets, Tablets, PDAs, Telephone sets, IP Phones, Mobile Dongles, etc
Short Range Radio Devices
- Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC Readers, RFID, etc
Radio Transceivers
- Broadcast Equipment, Satellite Equipment, Base Stations, etc.
Network Equipment
- BSCs, MSCs, PSTN Switches, Media gateways, Servers, Switches, Routers, Modems, PBX, tracking devices, etc.

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4. WHO CAN APPLY FOR TYPE APPROVAL

Type Approval can be requested by:

Authorized Importers (Authorized Importer is entity in Somalia that is authorized by the Ministry of Commerce to import RTTE to Somalia for marketing/commercial purposes in line with the Applicable Regulatory Framework).
Licensed Operators (Licensed Operator is a Somali company or establishment located in Somalia that is licensed by NCA to own, establish or operate a telecommunications network).
Local and International Manufacturers.
Public/private organizations in Somalia wishing to import RTTE for their own use (i.e. not for marketing/commercial purposes).

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5. GENERAL TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

Generally speaking, all RTTEs imported to Somalia have to meet the following requirements:

RTTE must be electrically and electromagnetically safe for users, subscribers or the employees of the telecommunications system operators;
RTTE must be electromagnetically compatible with other equipment to which it is or will be connected;
RTTE have to use the radio spectrum efficiently in order to avoid causing interference to other networks;

A detailed technical specification is presented in Appendix C.

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6. TYPE APPROVAL FEES

Type Approval fees are intended to cover the administrative costs incurred by the NCA for processing Type Approval applications. One Type Approval application form is limited to only one type of equipment. Type Approval application fees are non-refundable and may be subject to change at NCA’s discretion. Current Type Approval fees per one application are:

USD 100 for local applicant
USD 200 for foreign applicant

Payment of fees should be made by cash or bank transfer upon receipt of the invoice from the NCA

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7. TYPE APPROVAL PROCEDURE

Type Approval applicants are required to adhere the following procedures:

An Application for Type Approval must be completed using the application form shown in Appendix A of this document and which is available for download on the NCA website (www.nca.gov.so ).
NCA only processes applications of RTTEs which has already obtained Type Approval Certificate from a National Regulatory Authority (NRA) recognized by NCA showing that the RTTE complies with the required technical standards.
National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) that are recognized by NCA are listed in Appendix B and will be regularly updated and published on NCA website.
If an applicant wants to apply Type Approval for different types of equipment. A separate application form must be completed, signed and stamped by the applicant for each type of equipment. Applications must be submitted via email (typeapproval@nca.gov.so ).
Each application for Type Approval must be accompanied by the following supporting documents:

Technical documentation of the RTTE (including details of transmission parameters, operating media, interface specifications, fulfilment of service technology requirements, etc).
A duly signed, stamped and dated Type Approval Certificate confirming that the RTTE complies with the suitable standards, issued by a National Regulatory Authority (NRA) recognized by NCA.
Proof of payment for the Type Approval application fee.

No application for Type Approval will be processed unless all required supporting documents are submitted to NCA. This may include the submission of any other additional information that is considered necessary by NCA for the purpose of Type Approval.
An application that is complete will be processed within thirty (30) calendar days of its receipt by NCA.
If the outcome of the assessment is successful, NCA type approves the RTTE and issues Type Approval Letter to the applicant.
NCA reserves the right to reject Type Approval application in the case where NCA is not satisfied in regard to any feature of the application. The Applicant may rectify the issue and submit a new application for Type Approval.

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Appendix A: Type Approval Application Form

Applicant’s Details (tick appropriate)
	Authorized Importer- Importer Registration No.: _____________________________________
	Licensed Operators- Provide License No.: ___________________________________________
	Manufacturer (local or international)
	Public/private organization (own use)
Company Name
Contact Person
Position
Address
Telephone
Email
Equipment Details
Intended use
Equipment Type
Model/Brand Name
Model Number
Manufacturer Name
Manufacturer Details (Address, Telephone and Email)
Details of the obtained Type Approval Certificate
Issuing NRA
Date of issue
Validity

Form completed by: ____________________________________________________

Signature: ________________________ Date: ________________

Official stamp

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Appendix B. List of recognized National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs)

The following list of NRAs are recognized by NCA and Type Approval Certificates granted by these NRAs can be used as Certificate of Compliance. The list of the recognized NRAs will be regularly updated and published on NCA website.

a. All NRAs from EU Member states.

b. Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), UAE.

c. Communications Authority (CA), Kenya.

d. Information and Communications Technology Authority, Turkey.

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Appendix C: Technical specifications

HEALTH AND SAFETY SPECIFICATIONS
Type	Applicable Standard	Description
Electrical	EN 60950 or IEC 60950	Electrical Safety of information technology equipment
Radio	EN 50360	Product standard to demonstrate the compliance of mobile phones with the basic restrictions related to human exposure to electromagnetic fields (300 MHz – 3 GHz)
	EN 50364	Limitation of human exposure to electromagnetic fields from devices operating in the frequency range 0 Hz to 10 GHz, used in Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS), Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and similar applications
	EN 50371	Generic standard to demonstrate the compliance of low power electronic and electrical apparatus with the basic restrictions related to human exposure to electromagnetic fields (10 MHz – 300 GHz) – General public
	EN 50385	Product standard to demonstrate the compliance of radio base stations and fixed terminal stations for wireless with the basic restrictions related to human exposure to electromagnetic fields (10 MHz – 300 GHz)
	EN 60215	Safety requirements for radio transmitting equipment
	EN 50392	Generic standard to demonstrate the compliance of electronic and electrical apparatus with the basic restrictions related to human exposure to electromagnetic fields (0 Hz– 300 GHz)
Optical and Laser	EN 60825-2 or IEC 60825-2	Safety of laser products - Part 1: Equipment classification, requirements and user's guide
Optical and Laser	EN 60825-1 or IEC 60825-1	Safety of laser products - Part 2: Safety of optical fiber communication systems

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ELECTROMAGNETIC COMPATIBILITY (EMC) SPECIFICATIONS
Radio Standards	Description
ETSI EN 303 035-1	Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA); Harmonised EN for TETRA equipment covering essential requirements under article 3.2 of the R&TTE Directive; Part 1: Voice plus Data (V+D)
ETSI EN 303 035-2	Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA); Harmonised EN for TETRA equipment covering essential requirements under article 3.2 of the R&TTE Directive; Part 2: Direct Mode Operation (DMO)
EN 60215	Radio transmitters, Radio equipment, Transmitters, Communication equipment, Safety measures, Electronic equipment and components. Protected electrical equipment, Electrical safety, Fire safety, Explosions, Radiation hazards, Occupational safety, Environment (working), Design, Marking, Earthing, Leakage paths, Clearance distances, Symbols, Graphic symbols, Equipment safety.
EN 301 166-2	Electromagnetic Compatibility and Radio Spectrum Matters (ERM); Land Mobile Service; Radio Equipment for Analogue and /or Digital Communication (Speech and/or Data) and Operating on Narrow Band Channels and Having an Antenna Connector; Part 2: Harmonized EN Covering Essential Requirements under Article 3.2 of the R&TTE Directive
ETSI EN 300 086-2	Electromagnetic Compatibility and Radio Spectrum Matters (ERM); Land Mobile Service; Radio Equipment with an Internal or External RF Connector Intended Primarily for Analogue Speech; Part 2: Harmonized EN Covering Essential Requirements under Article 3.2 of the R&TTE Directive
ETSI EN 300 113-2	Electromagnetic compatibility and Radio spectrum Matters (ERM); Land mobile service; Radio equipment intended for the transmission of data (and/or speech) using constant or non-constant envelope modulation and having an antenna connector; Part 2: Harmonized EN covering essential requirements under article 3.2 of the R&TTE Directive
ETSI ETS 300 296-2	Electromagnetic compatibility and Radio spectrum Matters (ERM); Land Mobile Service; Radio equipment using integral antennas intended primarily for analogue speech; Part 2: Harmonized EN covering essential requirements under article 3.2 of the R&TTE Directive
ETSI EN 300 390-2	Electromagnetic compatibility and Radio spectrum Matters (ERM); Land Mobile Service; Radio Equipment intended for the transmission of data (and speech) and using an integral antenna. Part 2: Harmonized EN covering essential requirements under article 3.2 of the R&TTE Directive
ETSI EN 300 471-2	Electromagnetic compatibility and Radio spectrum Matters (ERM); Land Mobile Service; Access protocol, occupation rules and corresponding technical characteristics of radio equipment for the transmission of data on shared channels. Part 2: Harmonized EN covering essential requirements under article 3.2 of the R&TTE Directive
EN 50385	Product Standard to Demonstrate the Compliances of Radio Base Stations and Fixed Terminal Stations for Wireless Telecommunication Systems with the Basic Restrictions or the Reference Levels Related to Human Exposure to Radio Frequency Electromagnetic Fields (110 MHz - 40 GHz) - General Public
ETSI EN 301 502	Harmonized EN for Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Base Station and Repeater Equipment Covering Essential Requirements under Article 3.2 of the R&TTE Directive
ETSI EN 301 511	Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Harmonized EN for Mobile Stations in the GSM 900 and GSM 1800 Bands Covering Essential Requirements Under Article 3.2 of the R&TTE Directive (1999/5/EC)
ETSI EN 301 893	Broadband Radio Access Networks (BRAN); 5 GHz high performance RLAN; Harmonized EN covering essential requirements of article 3.2 of the R&TTE Directive
ETSI EN 301 753	Fixed Radio Systems; Multipoint equipment and antennas; Generic harmonized standard for multipoint digital fixed radio systems and antennas covering the essential requirements under article 3.2 of the Directive 1999/5/EC
ETSI EN 301 426	Satellite Earth Stations and Systems (SES); Harmonized EN for Low Data Rate Land Mobile Satellite Earth Stations (LMES) and Maritime Mobile Satellite Earth Stations (MMES) Not Intended for Distress and Safety Communications Operating in the 1,5/1,6 GHz Frequency Bands Covering Essential Requirements under Article 3.2 of the R&TTE Directive
ETSI EN 301 441	Satellite Earth stations and Systems (SES); Harmonised EN for Mobile Earth Stations (MES), including handheld earth stations, for Satellite Personal Communications Networks (S-PCN) in the 1.6/2.4 GHz bands under the Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) covering essential requirements under article 3.2 of the R&TTE directive
ETSI EN 301 442	Harmonised EN for Mobile Earth Stations (MES), including handheld earth stations, for Satellite Personal Communications Networks (S-PCN) in the 2.0 GHz bands under the Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) covering essential requirements under article 3.2 of the R&TTE directive
ETSI EN 301 444	Satellite Earth stations and Systems (SES); Harmonised EN for Land Mobile Earth Stations (LMES) operating in the 1.5 GHz and 1.6 GHz bands providing voice and /or data communications covering essential requirements under article 3.2 of the R&TTE directive
ETSI EN 301 681	Satellite Earth stations and Systems (SES); Harmonised EN for Mobile Earth Stations (MES) of geostationary mobile satellite systems, including handheld earth stations, for satellite personal communications networks (S-PCN) in the 1.5/1.6 GHz bands under the Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) covering essential requirements under article 3(2) of the R&TTE directive
ETSI EN 301 721	Satellite Earth Stations and Systems (SES); Harmonized EN for Mobile Earth Stations (MES) Providing Low Bit Rate Data Communications (LBRDC) Using Low Earth Orbiting (LEO) Satellites Operating Below 1 GHz Covering Essential Requirements under Article 3.2 of the R&TTE Directive
EN 55022	Radio disturbances, Noise (spurious signals), Computer terminals, Data processing equipment, Computers, Computer peripheral equipment, Office machines, Data processing, Communication equipment, Communication networks, Radiofrequencies, Interference suppression, Grades (quality), Emission, Electromagnetic fields, Electromagnetic radiation, Electrical wave measurement, Electrical measurement, Conformity, Approval testing, Test equipment, Circuits, Testing conditions, Electromagnetic compatibility
ETSI EN 301 443	Satellite Earth stations and Systems (SES); Harmonised EN for Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT); Transmit only, transmit-and-receive, receive-only satellite earth stations operating in the 4GHz and 6GHz frequency bands covering essential requirements under article 3.2 of the R&TTE directive
ETSI EN 301 428	Satellite Earth stations and Systems (SES); Harmonised EN for Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT); Transmit only, transmit/receive or receive-only satellite earth stations operating in the 11/12/14 GHz frequency bands covering essential requirements under article 3.2 of the R&TTE directive
ETSI EN 301 459	Satellite Earth stations and Systems (SES); Harmonised EN for Satellite Interactive Terminal (SIT) and Satellite User Terminals (SUT) transmitting towards satellites in geostationary orbit in the 29.5 – 30.0 GHz frequency bands covering essential requirements under article 3.2 of the R&TTE directive
ETSI EN 301 360	Satellite Earth stations and Systems (SES); Harmonised EN for Satellite Interactive Terminal (SIT) and Satellite User Terminals (SUT) transmitting towards satellites in geostationary orbit in the 27.5 – 29.5 GHz frequency bands covering essential requirements under article 3.2 of the R&TTE directive
ETSI EN 301 406	Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT); Harmonised EN for Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) covering essential requirements under Article 3(2) of the R&TTE directive
ETSI EN 300 440-2	Electromagnetic compatibility and Radio spectrum Matters (ERM); Short Range Devices (SRD); Radio equipment to be used in the 1 GHz to 40 GHz frequency range; Part 2: Harmonized EN under article 3.2 of the R&TTE Directive
ETSI EN 300 328	Electromagnetic compatibility and Radio spectrum Matters (ERM); Wideband transmission systems; Data transmission equipment operating in the 2,4 GHz ISM band and using wide band modulation techniques; Harmonized EN covering essential requirements under article 3.2 of the R&TTE Directive
ETSI EN 301 893	Broadband Radio Access Networks (BRAN); 5 GHz high performance RLAN; Harmonized EN covering essential requirements of article 3.2 of the R&TTE Directive

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Download English: Type Approval Guidelines For Radio and Telecommunication Terminal Equipment

List Measures/Standards

Name	Description	Status	Measures/Standards	Measure Class
Requirements to obtain Type approval guidelines for radio and telecommunications terminal equipment	Any potential trader who wants to export/import has to follow type approval requirements. The Type Approval Guidelines apply to all RTTEs imported to Somalia, whether for marketing or commercial purposes or for private use and apply to any Person that is the initial or first point of supply of the RTTE in Somalia.	Active	Measure	Goods

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