To tackle the security concerns raised by the Indian government in the telecom sector, the Chinese telecom vendor Huawei said on Thursday it is ready to look into all the issues including self-certification with an open mind and has submitted a comprehensive confidence building measures to the Indian authorities. This is a significant move as Huawei has been under the scanner of the Indian security agencies.
Self-certification is a process where the service providers are accountable for any breach of security. However, Huawei, being a telecom vendor, is actively discussing the impact of the move with its customers including Reliance Communication, Tata Teleservices, BSNL, MTNL, Aircel and Bharti Airtel.
Huawei vice-president (global marketing department) Kevin Zhang told FE, ?Keeping in mind our long-term commitment to India, we are actively evaluating and collaborating with the Indian government and have requested for a long-term framework and solution to the security issue where all aspects including technology sharing will be addressed.?
Huawei has been active in India for the past decade and commands a turnover of over Rs 9,000 crore in the Indian telecom equipment markets estimated to be worth over Rs 90,000 crore annually. However, Huawei and other Chinese firms have been facing tough time ever since the Indian government has amended telecom licences making it mandatory for operators to take security agencies? clearance before placing an order for telecom equipments. The company also said it is open to the idea of sharing of technology with its customers specifically in India.
Indian government has circulated a draft among the stakeholders including operators and telecom vendors proposing changes in the licence terms and conditions. The proposed amendments are submission of self-certification by the service providers on the security concerns and sharing of technology by foreign vendors with the local partners. Huawei India, which contributes nearly 10% to the global revenue of Huawei may witness a dip in its India revenue as it has not bagged any orders for the first six months of this year.
Asked whether Huawei would consider an Indian heading its Indian operations, Zhang said ?As part of Huawei?s long term India localization strategy, we have achieved up to 85-90 percent localisation of Indian engineers and management in various functions. ?Even our senior management team has been localized and currently we are in the process of establishing Indian corporate governance board comprising of eminent Indian professionals who will advice Huawei India,? he added.