The non-Chinese telecom equipment manufacturers with factories in China are likewise barred from serving as a telco’s supplier. Due to this circumstance, BSNL has partnered with TCS-Tejas, a brand-new operator in the market, to launch 4G and 5G mobile services. The inclusion of significant Chinese equipment in its network, similar to that of BSNL, Vodafone Idea, Reliance Jio, and Airtel, may cause interface problems when switching to 5G services.
Chinese gear components are thought to make up between 30 and 40 percent of the private sector’s 4G networks, according to industry observers. Nevertheless, the Government of India estimates the size of the Indian telecom gear market at around Rs 9,000 crore. Both Huwaei and ZTE provided less expensive network equipment for the quicker deployment and growth of telecom networks, as well as simple financing options. Chinese banks sponsored Indian private telcos, allowing them to recoup the money from future network earnings, with a corporate guarantee from the holding firm.
Chinese businesses won equipment tenders for public sector organisations as the L1 (lowest) bidder. In a sense, the Chinese have supported and funded the Indian telecom development during the past 15 years. However, the significant amount of Chinese telecom equipment raised concerns about network security, particularly as border tensions between China and India escalated.
Video Courtesy: WION
This compelled the Union government to demand that, starting in 2021, telecom equipment suppliers obtain trusted source approval from the National Cyber Security Coordinator (NCSC). Since then, other European firms, including Ericsson, Nokia, and the US-based Cisco, have obtained NCSC certification. Indian businesses Tejas and HFCL have also received certification.
The purchase or upgrade of Chinese businesses’ technologies has not been approved. Chinese firms’ failure to obtain this NCSC certification has contributed to the delay in the deployment of BSNL’s 4G services across India. Private telecoms have advanced and deployed 5G services in the interim, with Ericson, Nokia, and Samsung dominating the market for telecom hardware. However, their ambitions for quick launches across the nation are likely to be derailed by the interface problems brought on by the current Chinese equipment.
The government’s commitment to gradually phase out Chinese telecom equipment suppliers from the market is demonstrated by the fact that only NCSC-certified companies are permitted to partner with Indian telecommunications in the upgrade of technology. One must watch the situation closely to see how it evolves, how it will impact BSNL’s expansion and upgrade plans, and how it would affect Chinese telecom equipment suppliers.
Will this have a diplomatic fallout between India and China, and whether this will impact the progress in Indiau2019s telecom sector?Comment down below.
