Device Procurement & Compliance Glossary

Federal & compliance

Trade Agreements Act (TAA)

A 1979 US law requiring products sold to the federal government to be made or substantially transformed in the US or a TAA-designated country. For device buyers it governs country-of-origin eligibility; suppliers provide a country-of-origin certificate per SKU. See TAA-compliant mobile supply.

NDAA Section 889

A US federal provision barring agencies from procuring telecom or video-surveillance equipment from named Chinese vendors (Huawei, ZTE, Hytera, Hikvision, Dahua). Compliant suppliers issue a Section 889 attestation per device SKU.

ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations)

US State Department (DDTC) rules controlling export of defence articles on the US Munitions List. Controlled hardware requires registered brokerage, end-user screening and DSP-83 certification where applicable. See ITAR-compliant device supply.

EAR (Export Administration Regulations)

US Commerce Department (BIS) rules governing dual-use items on the Commerce Control List. Most consumer electronics fall under EAR; classification uses an ECCN, and some encryption configurations trigger ECCN 5A002.

FIPS 140-2 / 140-3

US federal standards validating cryptographic modules. Federal device deployments often require FIPS-validated encryption, with keys bound to a TPM or Secure Enclave.

CAC / PIV

Common Access Card (DoD) and Personal Identity Verification (civilian) smart cards used for federal authentication. Devices are configured with card readers and PKI middleware (such as ActivClient) before issue.

GSA Schedule (GSA MAS)

The General Services Administration Multiple Award Schedule, a pre-negotiated US federal procurement vehicle. Device suppliers fulfil through Schedule holders under the relevant Special Item Number.

SEWP

NASA Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement, a government-wide acquisition contract widely used for federal IT hardware purchases.

NASPO ValuePoint

A cooperative purchasing program for US state and local government, used to procure devices at pre-negotiated cooperative terms.

Chain of custody

A documented record tracking a device from manufacture or import through every intermediate party to end use, required for federal and defence procurement.

Provisioning & MDM

MDM / EMM

Mobile Device Management / Enterprise Mobility Management: platforms such as Intune, Jamf, Workspace ONE and Knox Manage that enforce configuration, apps and security policy on managed devices.

Zero-touch deployment

A workflow where devices auto-enrol into the MDM on first power-on with no manual IT setup, because the supplier pre-registered them to the organisation's tenant. See zero-touch enrollment and the ABM vs Zero-Touch vs Knox comparison.

Apple Business Manager (ABM) / DEP

Apple's enrolment portal and Device Enrollment Program that auto-enrols iPhone, iPad and Mac into an MDM when devices are registered by an Apple Authorised Reseller.

Google Zero-Touch Enrollment

Google's cross-OEM Android program that auto-enrols any participating-OEM Android device (Pixel, Samsung, Motorola, Sonim, Kyocera) into an EMM via IMEI registration.

Samsung Knox Mobile Enrollment (KME)

Samsung's enrolment program for Galaxy and Samsung enterprise devices, adding Knox-tier configuration (security profile, container) beyond standard Zero-Touch.

Custom OS flashing

Loading a customised Android image onto handsets before shipment (carrier dialler, APN config, branding, pre-installed apps), common in MVNO and carrier deployments. See custom OS flashing for bulk phones.

SIM lock

Restricting a handset to a specific carrier's SIM at procurement. Practice varies by region and regulation, common in the US and restricted across much of the EU.

APN configuration

Access Point Name settings that connect a device to the correct mobile data network, pre-set during provisioning for the underlying carrier.

Kitting

Assembling devices with accessories, documentation, asset tags and packaging into a ready-to-deploy unit before shipment.

IMEI

International Mobile Equipment Identity, the unique 15-digit identifier for a mobile device, used for enrolment registration and asset tracking.

Procurement & supply chain

MOQ (Minimum Order Quantity)

The smallest order an OEM or distributor will accept for direct allocation; sub-MOQ orders route through authorised distribution at a price premium.

TCO (Total Cost of Ownership)

The full lifecycle cost of a device (acquisition, provisioning, support, warranty and disposal), not just purchase price. Acquisition is typically around 40 percent of lifecycle cost. See enterprise laptop procurement.

Landed cost

The total cost of a device delivered to the buyer, including ex-factory price, freight, insurance, duties and compliance documentation overhead.

EOL (End-of-Life) sourcing

Procuring discontinued or legacy devices and components no longer in standard production, for legacy-system maintenance or specialised deployments. See sourcing end-of-life components.

Device-as-a-Service (DaaS)

A model bundling hardware, provisioning, support and lifecycle management into a recurring per-device subscription rather than an upfront purchase.

Institutional procurement

Structured device acquisition by enterprises, governments and MVNOs at volume, with compliance verification, provisioning and direct-to-site delivery, distinct from retail purchasing.

Substantial transformation

The TAA test for country of origin: where a product's final, defining manufacturing step occurred determines its origin, not where the component parts came from.

Connectivity & Starlink

MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator)

A carrier that sells mobile service using another operator's network, and that often sources and provisions its own handsets at volume. See MVNO phone supply.

Starlink Business

A higher-throughput Starlink service tier with priority data and a business-grade SLA, for fixed mission-critical sites.

Starlink Maritime

A Starlink tier with a gimbal-stabilised antenna and global ocean coverage, designed for vessels and offshore platforms. See Starlink authorised reseller.

Starlink Mobility / Priority

Starlink service plans supporting in-motion use and prioritised throughput, used for fleets and rapid-response deployments.