The Indian government yesterday adopted amendments to the telecom licensing norms, from June 15, the telecom providers to purchase telecommunications equipment, only from the designated body approved by the “trusted” sources of procurement, is believed to exclude huawei and other Chinese telecom providers to participate.
The U.S. and other countries questioned the security of Huawei, ZTE and other Chinese telecoms equipment, thus excluding these Chinese manufacturers from participating in the local 5th generation mobile communications (5G) construction, India has been slow to take a public position.
But after the confrontation and conflict between Indian and Chinese communist forces broke out in early May last year in eastern Ladakh (Ladakh), it was expected that India would exclude Chinese manufacturers such as Huawei from participating in 5G.
The Times of India reported today that the Indian government is increasingly concerned about the Chinese Communist Party‘s “involvement” in India’s critical infrastructure, with the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), part of India’s Ministry of Information Technology and Communications, yesterday passing amendments to the telecoms licensing code that will allow telecoms licensees (telcos) from June 15 to can only connect “trusted products” in the constructed telecom network, and must obtain permission from designated institutions to upgrade the relevant equipment, and only from trusted sources of procurement.
The Indian amendment states that the government has the right to add prerequisites to the procurement of telecommunications equipment through a designated agency in consideration of India’s national defense, or matters directly and indirectly related to national defense, in the interest of national security. Therefore, the Indian National Cyber Security Coordinator (National Cyber Security Coordinator) will assume the task of the designated authority and provide a list of “unavailable” sources of procurement.
The Designated Authority will soon notify the industry of the list of telecom equipment that meets the security requirements and is classified as a “trusted” source. Only telecommunications equipment and “trusted products” that the Designated Authority has notified can be procured can be procured and placed in the telecommunications network. All telecom companies are also required to provide any information related to this.
However, the changes made by the Indian government in this amendment to the telecom licensing code will not affect the ongoing annual maintenance contracts, or the existing telecom network has been introduced to update the existing equipment.
The Indian government said last December that it would prepare a list of “trusted sources”, and the Indian Cabinet Committee on Security also adopted the “National Security Directive for telecom” (National Security Directive). (for telecom).
A number of Indian telecom operators have just recently bid for the 4th generation mobile standard (4G) frequency bands, with the Indian government auctioning a total of 780 billion rupees (about $10.72 billion) worth of bands. The above amendment will effectively exclude Chinese manufacturers from participating in this 4G business expansion in India.
In addition, Chinese manufacturers such as Huawei may also be forced to withdraw from the lucrative Indian 5G market due to the passage of the amendment. India may auction 5G frequency bands in fiscal year 2021, and then start the procurement and deployment of 5G network equipment.
Sandeep Aggarwal, chairman of India’s Telecom Export Promotion Council, said this is a very immediate decision that coincides with the threat of cyber attacks on India’s telecom sector, especially from India’s neighbors. This step will strengthen India’s national security and make India’s telecom and IT networks stronger and more secure.
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