On 24 February 2026 Argentina's National Communications Agency (ENACOM) issued Resolution No. 57/2026, a comprehensive modernisation of the certification system for telecommunications equipment. The new rules aim to simplify administrative procedures, reduce costs for industry, promote technological innovation and strengthen market surveillance.

The most notable change is the introduction of accredited third-party certification bodies into the equipment certification process. These bodies will issue certificates of conformity (Certificados de Conformidad) on the basis of laboratory test reports and the applicant's documentation, as a precondition for registration of the equipment in RAMATEL (the Registry of Telecommunications Activities and Materials). The aim is to relieve the direct review burden on ENACOM and improve approval efficiency.

What the resolution provides

1. Certification bodies and testing laboratories must first be accredited by the Argentine Accreditation Body (Organismo Argentino de Acreditación).

2. ENACOM will create and administer a Registry of Telecommunications Material Certification Bodies.

3. Certification bodies will also carry out market surveillance functions, ensuring continued compliance with technical standards.

4. To ensure a smooth transition, bodies already certified to ISO/IEC 17065 but not yet holding specific accreditation for telecommunications technology may obtain temporary accreditation for one year.

Main features of the new system

1. Registration without expiry: certificates issued under the new rules no longer have a validity period; previously they had to be renewed periodically.

2. Product family registration: several devices with similar technical characteristics may be registered as a product family, reducing duplicate testing.

3. Classification: equipment is assessed at a level determined by the end user, whether consumer or professional operator.

4. Obligations for online sales: where telecommunications equipment is sold through a website, the RAMATEL registration number assigned by ENACOM must be clearly displayed. This applies both to the seller's own website and to e-commerce platforms acting as intermediaries.

Stronger rules, tighter market control

ENACOM has instructed its technical department to coordinate with the Secretariat of Industry and Commerce to strengthen control of the sales stage. Breaches of the new rules are subject to the existing penalty regime and may also engage the Consumer Protection Act (No. 24,240) and the Commercial Fairness Act (No. 22,802).

ENACOM will also update its radio spectrum rights and fees regime (Resolution No. 10/95) to set fees for the three new registries. Because implementation of the new certification system requires a digital processing environment built on the existing HERTZ system, the new registry rules take effect on 1 September 2026, while the other provisions of the resolution, such as creating the registries and setting transition periods, took effect the day after publication in the Official Journal, on 27 February 2026.