Telecom operators will not be allowed to place any 5G network management order with Chinese gear makers ZTE and Huawei, official sources have said. However, telcos may be allowed to place orders on a case-by-case basis for their 4G network upgrade with these Chinese firms. The reason for the same could be that barring Reliance Jio, the 4G network of other telcos have been built by Chinese vendors.
As far as 5G network is concerned, Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel have not placed any orders with the Chinese firms so far while Vodafone Idea is yet to finalise placing orders for 5G services with any vendor.
Apart from security issues, the restriction on Chinese vendors for 5G network is to enable domestic telecom equipment players to emerge as a viable alternative in this segment. For instance, the 4G and 5G stack developed by TCS-led consortium for state-owned BSNL, can be tried by the private telcos too, officials said.
Telecom companies need to seek permission from the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) for upgrading their network using equipments from companies not yet designated as trusted sources.
The government has recently permitted Vodafone Idea for placing network upgrade order worth `200 crore with ZTE. The Chinese gear maker will supply optical transmission equipment to the telecom operator for its existing network upgrades in select circles.
“The approval has been given after analysing the requirement. We have received application from Huawei and ZTE for trusted source tag. However, at this stage there is no plan to allow them for new supply,” a government official said.
According to industry executives, US is also considering to approve companies like ZTE.
Trusted source norms were notified under the National Security Directive on Telecom Sector in December 2020. The norms made it mandatory for the telecom companies and licensed importers of telecom products to procure equipment from designated countries which do not pose threat to India’s national security.
Post the National Security Directive, the department of telecommunications (DoT) banned the use of non-trusted telecom gear for ‘expansion’ of communications networks in the country.
In the notification, DoT had said: “With effect from June 15, 2021, the licensee shall only connect trusted products in its network and also seek permission from designated authority for upgrade or expansion of existing network utilising the telecommunication equipment not designated as trusted products.”
Recently, telecom companies have pitched for universal application of trusted sources norms to all devices which connect to the network.
Extending the scope of trusted sources norms to other devices means that mobile phones, internet of things (IoT) devices such as sensors, voice assistant; equipment used in unlicensed communication frequencies such as smart meters, Wi-Fi products etc, would come under the ambit, according to experts.
“Bringing only a part of the system under a testing regime does not make any sense. If today, a telecom operator wants to buy switches, it has to go for clearances but what about those using unlicensed spectrum,” said SP Kochhar, director general of Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI).