Doors open for Chinese telecom gear

The government has lifted ban on state-run telecom firm BSNL from buying equipment from Chinese vendors, Minister of state for telecommunications Sachin Pilot confirmed. BSNL is planning to buy equipment for supporting 5 million subscribers and had invited bids only from European and American vendors.

The public sector unit was forced to keep Chinese vendors out following a ban imposed by the Government due to security reasons. The government had raised suspicion that Chinese equipment might have spying technologies embedded to intercept sensitive conversations and government communications. India was restricting telecom gear imports from Chinese firms including Huawei Technologies and ZTE due to security concerns.

The government revised telecom license rules saying telecom equipment vendors must allow inspection of their gear and made carriers solely responsible for the security of their networks.

With the Department of Telecom allowing Reliance Communication to buy equipment from ZTE and Tata Teleservices scheduled to receive equipment from china’s Huawei technologies; the state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd is not staying behind.

BSNL employee unions raised the issue with the Department of Telecom (DoT) last week. They said that ban on BSNL for buying equipment from Chinese vendors was discriminatory step on part of the government, as private players were allowed the imports from China without so much restrictions.

Justifying government's stand on the issue of discrimination, Sachin Pilot said that participation of foreign companies in strategic sector has bearing on national security. BSNL being a public sector undertaking, it's network has to be relied upon in emergency.

Earlier, DoT had barred BSNL from deploying Chinese equipment in sensitive regions -- Assam, Manipur, Tripura, Sikkim, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Meghalaya, West Bengal, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Maharashtra. BSNL was directed in 2009 not to buy Chinese equipment for use in sensitive zones near the country's land border, is now free to deal with Chinese vendors on the basis of the tightened gear import rules.

Now, with the new guidelines and template of agreement between telecom service providers and equipment vendors in place, BSNL would be able to place the orders with any foreign firm including from China.

akankshas@cybermedia.co.in