New DoT inspection move may check China's Huawei, ZTE

If a proposal in the government on telecom safety is any indication, China's Huawei and ZTE, facing concerns related to security in India and the US, are headed for some tough checks in the Indian market. Manoj Gairola reports.

If a proposal in the government on telecom safety is any indication, China's Huawei and ZTE, facing concerns related to security in India and the US, are headed for some tough checks in the Indian market.

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The government may make it mandatory for telecom operators to get all equipment tested by Telecom Engineering Centre (TEC), a division of the department of telecommunications (DoT), before deploying them in their networks.

"This is primarily due to security reasons," said a DoT official. "This will also help in standardising equipment deployed in the networks and help in developing a robust network."

The Intelligence Bureau (IB) had raised concerns that equipment supplied by Huawei and ZTE may pose a threat to India's security because they may be able to get access to confidential data.

"It has been reiterated that it is mandatory in almost all countries of the world including the developed nations that all equipment to be deployed in the networks including imported equipment have to secure the necessary approvals from the prescribed certified agency with the country," the DoT said in an internal note.

The note added that no telecom or information technology-related equipment is allowed to be imported into Europe, the US, Russia and China until a sample is thoroughly tested and approved by the authorities.

Last month, a US Congressional committee, said Huawei and ZTE posed a security threat to the US.