Right call on telecom gear

The government is planning to amend telecom licence norms so that companies such as Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, and Reliance Jio cannot procure critical network equipment from China. So far only state-owned firms — Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd — were stopped from sourcing telecom gear from Chinese companies such as Huawei and ZTE, while private operators were not given any instruction in black and white. The concern in the telecom industry is that if a decision is taken to exclude Chinese equipment companies through changes in licence provisions, the move may adversely impact the financially stressed sector, especially in the absence of a viable alternative. Typically, Chinese telecom gear makers sell their equipment at a much lower price than those in other geographies, particularly Europe, resulting in a wide cost differential.

The concerns have some validity, but the fact is that national security has to be of paramount importance, weighing much more than business and geopolitical factors. After all, China’s use of spyware has a long history and in its quest for new technologies, that country has been enthusiastic in securing trade secrets for use in both military and civilian applications. China has also been accused of providing a safe haven for criminal hackers who are willing to help the State and be on call to do so. There is a growing suspicion that some of China’s largest telecom equipment companies deploy backdoors in their equipment to snoop on data on behalf of their government. Apart from the US, countries such as the UK and Australia have already banned Chinese products in their network. Other telecom companies in India can also take a cue from Reliance Jio, which has announced plans to set up technology infrastructure without Chinese technology or hardware. Though the task appears formidable as 90 per cent of the telecom gear in the country is imported, Jio has at least taken the initiative to transform itself into an equipment provider with the capacity to build network technology. Jio’s competitors have to at least make a beginning in this regard.  

On its part, the government would do well to give some clarity on the geopolitical threat vis-a-vis technology. The US, under Donald Trump, has led a “China-free 5G” movement effectively, drawing in many European countries as well to sign bilateral declarations in a bid to counter Beijing’s growing global influence. India is following the global example but is yet to come up with a well-coordinated strategy to provide a helping hand to the industry. A knee-jerk response might just lead to a disruption that could have an adverse impact on the overall Internet connectivity and the flagship Digital India programme. India crossed 700 million broadband connections at the end of July and the data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India shows that a majority of these belong to wireless subscribers. When remote working is the new normal during the pandemic, good-quality Wi-Fi Internet connectivity is at the centre of all businesses, big and small alike. At such an extraordinary time, the government should take policy decisions, both for critical and non-critical technology areas, only after detailed deliberation within and outside. After all, when telcos are into fund raising to set their house in order, the last thing they would need is a technology hurdle.