Right call on telecom gear

National security has to be of paramount importance

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