Centre Asks Jio, Airtel, Vi For Chinese Equipment Details

The ongoing trade tensions between the US and China have put Indian telecom companies in the crosshairs.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has issued a fresh directive to all major telcos – including Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, BSNL – seeking details about Chinese gear deployed in their networks, ET Telecom reported.

The move comes as the Centre seeks to track the usage of China-made equipment in India’s telecom and space sectors to ward off potential security threats.

While India has excluded Chinese telecom equipment and technology vendors such as Huawei and ZTE from participating in its 5G rollout, their equipment is still widely used in 2G, 3G and 4G infrastructure, particularly in the core, wireless and optical fiber networks of telecom giants—Airtel, Vi and BSNL.

Why India Wants To Build China-Free Wireless Infrastructure

Under existing telecom policies, Chinese companies are prohibited from securing fresh contracts for network expansion or setting up new telecom infrastructure in India. They can only service existing equipment, which includes replacing or upgrading old gear.

In 2021, the DoT amended the Unified Access Service Licence in 2021 to stop telcos from procuring telecom network equipment from untrustworthy vendors. As per amended rules, only those vendors who have obtained a ‘trusted source’ tag are eligible to supply gear in India. 

While foreign companies such as Sweden-based Ericsson, Finland-based Nokia and Korea’s Samsung have secured necessary security clearances to bid for deals, Chinese companies such as Huawei and ZTE have not been approved as ‘trusted sources.’

The trusted sources regime is part of the Centre’s broader plans to reduce India’s dependence on Chinese telecom equipment manufacturers. As per data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), between 2022 and 2023, 38% of India’s imported networking and telecom equipment originated from China. 

India is not the only country skeptical of China’s involvement in critical sectors, including telecom. Countries like the US and the UK have also shut out China from their 5G infrastructure due to security concerns.

It is important to note that the Indian government launched the production linked incentive (PLI) scheme for Telecom and Networking Products and for Large Scale Electronic Manufacturing of Electronics in 2021. As of July 2024, the scheme attracted investments worth INR 3,400 Cr and the telecom equipment production in the country surpassed the INR 50,000 Cr mark.

On top of this, the DoT launched its ‘Digital Intelligence Platform’ (DIP) last year for real-time intelligence sharing, information exchange and coordination among telcos, law enforcement agencies, banks, social media platforms and other stakeholders.

Other Sectors To Adopt ‘Trusted Source’ Regime

Reports surfaced last year that the union government was considering extending the scope of the ‘trusted sources’ regime to Internet of Things (IoT) amid rising concerns over the use of Chinese-origin components in India.

The Centre also amended the ‘Electronics and Information Technology Goods (Requirement of Compulsory Registration) Order, 2021’, adding CCTV cameras to the list of goods requiring compulsory registration.

The order covers a wide range of electronic products, including laptops, tablets, mobile phones, digital cameras, and more.