The Indian Ministry of Communications has once again notified Amazon and other platforms to ban the sale of such products

Recently, the Indian Department of Communications has again notified Amazon, eBay, AliExpress and other e-commerce platforms to prohibit the sale of unauthorized mobile signal boosters and repeaters on the platforms . This is not the first time that the Indian Department of Communications ( DoT) has raised such issues and has repeatedly asked e-commerce companies to comply with the rules.

The Indian Ministry of Communications also made it clear that e-commerce platforms cannot simply claim to be platform providers to shirk their responsibilities . As early as May 2019, the notification stated : "E-commerce websites are responsible for facilitating such illegal transactions and must ensure that both buyers and sellers engaged in such transactions have the necessary licenses and approvals as required."

Installing , possessing or selling illegal repeaters is illegal under the Indian Wireless Telegraph Act, 1933 and the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885. Such illegal devices can interfere with mobile networks, affecting signal quality and degrading the network experience in the entire area.

However, it is worth mentioning that despite the restrictions, this sales behavior has been repeatedly banned. In the final analysis, the mobile signal in the area is poor, and people choose to buy signal boosting devices, but the unregulated addition of devices further leads to slow information networks. Therefore, the Cellular Operators Association of India ( COAI ) has been marking mobile signal boosters and repeaters on e-commerce websites .

Sellers should note that on Friday, the Cellular Operators Association of India once again urged the DoT to take strict measures to ensure a complete ban on the sale of illegal repeaters and boosters offline or online through e-commerce websites . The platforms involved include Amazon, Rediff, Indiamart, Aliexpress Flipkart, Snapdeal, Shopclues, and eBay.

In its latest letter to DoT, COAI said that despite the assurances given by e-commerce companies on this issue and the suspension of sale of such devices from their websites/platforms, other sellers continue to sell such items . E-commerce platforms are still the main channel for the sale and distribution of such products in India , and it has asked the communications department to thoroughly deal with such situations .

In a circular issued in May 2015 , they warned e-commerce sites that as per the Indian Wireless Telegraph (Possession) Rules, 1965, no person or dealer can sell or rent wireless devices/equipment unless the person/dealer holds a valid Dealer Possession License (DPL).

In addition, COAI also asked the Indian government to further strengthen control , take legal action against illegal mobile signal booster sellers in the country, and immediately ban the import of such products in the country. Sellers need to pay attention to relevant compliance certificates when selling such products to avoid losses caused by product removal.

India