Government Asks Telecom Companies To Reveal How Much Of Their Gear Is 'Non-Trusted' (Read: Chinese)

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has asked the telecom operators to provide a self-assessment regarding the proportion of their legacy network equipment originating from "non-trusted sources".

This initiative is aimed at identifying the potential costs involved in replacing these legacy systems with equipment from "trusted sources," a move critical for ensuring national security.

In December 2020, the government introduced the National Security Directive on Telecommunication Sector, which mandates that service providers purchase equipment exclusively from "trusted sources".

This directive became effective in June of the following year, reflecting worldwide concerns about the risk of espionage by Chinese equipment manufacturers, particularly Huawei and ZTE.

Prior to the implementation of this directive, numerous Indian telecom operators had sourced equipment from Huawei, ZTE and other Chinese companies, components that are still operational within their networks today.

The self-assessment is intended to serve multiple objectives, including estimating the financial burden on operators for replacing the "non-trusted" equipment and determining the level of government assistance necessary should such measures be implemented.

The current focus is on collecting data from telecom companies regarding their legacy network components sourced from these non-trusted vendors, according to a senior DoT official cited in a Business Standard report.

Following the completion of this data collection, the DoT plans to evaluate the associated costs to determine the next steps in this critical national security initiative.

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