In a first, the government of India has decided to issue a National Security Directive for the telecommunication sector to mandate scrutiny of telecom equipment and sources, in what is seen as its latest economic offensive against Chinese equipment vendors, amid heightened tension at the Ladakh border.
The action, finalised by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), will result in a list of trusted sources and products from the government, which will also amend the licence norms for telecom companies. Although the government refrained from specifying the country that will be impacted, it was clearly aimed at India’s aggressive neighbour, with companies such as Huawei and ZTE likely to face enhanced scrutiny, and even rejections, to ward off any covert operation and possible threat to the telecom infrastructure.
Huawei counts Airtel, Vodafone-Idea and other enterprise customers as its key clients in India, while ZTE is a major supplier to BSNL and other state-owned enterprises.
While it will not impact equipment that has already been deployed, going forward all telecom gear, especially those used for 5G services, will be kept under strict watch. “The methodology to designate trusted products will be devised by the designated authority, the National Cyber Security Coordinator. Telecom service providers (mobile operators) are required to connect new devices that are designated trusted products,” communications and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said, adding that the policy was framed keeping in mind the country’s security needs.
Chinese equipment suppliers are already under the scanner globally, with countries such as Australia, the US and the UK banning their access, especially in the 5G space, while others like Germany increasing scrutiny. Apart from the equipment vendors, some telecom operators which have been sourcing products from Huawei and ZTE, are also nervous, especially after the government stepped in to restrict Chinese products for stateowned BSNL and MTNL.
Some of the mobile operators fear that any further escalation between India and China will mean that network support and upgradations from Chinese providers may come to a halt. It may benefit European players such as Nokia and Ericsson, American Cisco and South Korean Samsung, especially when it comes to the deployment of 5G services and infrastructure.
In recent months, India has banned the import of equipment from China for use in sectors ranging from telecom to power, citing national security. Some of the bans were driven by concerns such as spyware or malicious software — known as ‘malware’ — being embedded in the imported equipment. Also, there has been widespread action against Chinese apps like Tik-Tok, PubG, UC Browser, We-Chat and CamScanner, most of which have been banned due to national security concerns.
