The Department of Telecom (DoT) has issued a proposal and put telecom operators Airtel and Vodafone Idea in tension. The Department of Telecommunications has sought information from both these companies about the ‘non-trusted sources’ used in the network. DoT has also sent several reminders to both these telecom companies for this, but till now both these companies have not provided this information.
Sought this important information
The Department of Telecommunications has sought details of the equipment of Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE used in the network service, especially from Airtel and Vodafone-Idea, because these two companies have merged or acquired other companies, the details of which are not available for ‘non-trusted sources’ equipment.
At the beginning of the year, DoT had issued instructions to telecom operators to find out how many equipment in their network equipment have been purchased from non-trusted sources like Huawei and ZTE. Telecom operators were also asked to send details of the software of such non-trusted sources. The purpose of this instruction of DoT was to know how much it would cost if they were purchased from trusted sources?
Question of national security
Keeping in mind the security and sovereignty of the country, the government does not want to use the equipment network of non-trusted sources i.e. Chinese companies. According to the report of Moneycontrol, a government official has said that telecom operators have not yet submitted this report to the Department of Telecommunications. Reminders have been sent to them several times, but no answer has come yet.
Rip and replace program on the lines of America
This proposal by the Department of Telecommunications to telecom companies is like the ‘Rip and Replace’ program, which has been implemented by the US government keeping national security in mind. The government had provided financial assistance to telecom companies for this. In the US and the UK, emphasis has been laid on replacing equipment from non-trusted sources with equipment from trusted sources. The Department of Telecommunications wants to do the same in India, so that the private data of millions of telecom users of the country does not reach any non-trusted sources, especially Chinese companies.
