Government amends telecom equipment procurement license to prevent use of Chinese products

With an aim to completely stop the use of Chinese telecom equipment, the government has changed the conditions of telecom equipment procurement license, which will be done only through a trusted source, a Department of Telecommunication’s (DoT) notification said on Wednesday. 

It added that the import or procurement will be done only after approval from Trusted Sources Portal. 

After the change in the license terms of procurement, DoT again changed some rules, which includes, changes in International Long Distance (ILD) and National Long Distance (NLD) license rules. 

Both ILD, NLD upgrade and expansion will be procured from Trusted Source only and the approval will have to be taken from the National Cyber ​​Security Coordinator.  

This means that the Chinese products cannot be used even for existing network expansion and neither applicable for Annual Maintenance Contracts currently issued. 

The Department of Telecom has banned the use of non-trusted telecom gear for expansion of communications networks in the country. 

According to amended rules for the telecom licences issued on Monday, DoT has added the word "expansion" to plug a gap in previous rules that were issued to restrict the use of non-trusted telecom gear in the telecom networks. 

"With effect from June 15, 2021, the licencee shall only connect trusted products in its network and also seek permission from designated authority for upgradation or expansion of existing network utilising the telecommunication equipment not designated as trusted products," it said. 

The amendments will be applicable for all telecom licences. 

In 2020, the government approved the National Security Directive on the Telecommunication Sector. 

Under the directive, the government will declare a list of trusted sources and trusted products for installation in the country's telecom network. 

Till date, the government has not included any Chinese equipment in the list.