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Import of Telecom Equipment
Govt working on resolving issue: Telecom Secy
New Delhi, July 9
Facing a possible delay in the rollout of 3G services in the country as a result of the security restrictions on import of telecom equipment, the government is working to sort out the issue of bringing in the equipment from China.
Telecom Secretary PJ Thomas said here today the government was looking into the issue of import of telecom equipment from China. But, he did not provide a time frame for when a decision would be reached.
"We are working on that. We had a discussion with organisations, associations and they have helped us with their own suggestions," he told reporters.
Comments from Thomas came just a day after AUSPI, the umbrella body of the CDMA operators, shot off a letter to him stating that in the absence of DoT permission to import equipment, augmentation of capacities and expansion of network would affect the 3G rollout process of some operators. The government is yet to announce guidelines for telecom equipment import.
"Some of our members have invested heavily in acquiring 3G spectrum, but the delay in permission for import of equipment may derail the 3G rollout and business plans," it said. AUSPI has also requested DoT to come up with a list of core equipment which would need prior clearance.
The controversy over security concerns regarding Chinese vendors has been rocking the telecom sector since the past few months. Though the government denies any blanket ban on import of telecom equipment and network gears from China, Huawei and ZTE complain that the government had not approved their deals in the past few months.
In the wake of security concerns raised by the Home Ministry over Chinese telecom equipment, DoT had said it would come up with a comprehensive list of core equipment that would require mandatory security clearance before placing purchase orders by any operator. However, on the hand, the Centre has further expanded the list of ‘core equipment’ that will now require mandatory security clearance.
Incidentally, the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), the body representing telcos offering mobile services on the GSM platform, has also approached Telecom Minister A Raja demanding that the additions to the core list be removed.
Govt working on resolving issue: Telecom Secy
New Delhi, July 9
Facing a possible delay in the rollout of 3G services in the country as a result of the security restrictions on import of telecom equipment, the government is working to sort out the issue of bringing in the equipment from China.
Telecom Secretary PJ Thomas said here today the government was looking into the issue of import of telecom equipment from China. But, he did not provide a time frame for when a decision would be reached.
"We are working on that. We had a discussion with organisations, associations and they have helped us with their own suggestions," he told reporters.
Comments from Thomas came just a day after AUSPI, the umbrella body of the CDMA operators, shot off a letter to him stating that in the absence of DoT permission to import equipment, augmentation of capacities and expansion of network would affect the 3G rollout process of some operators. The government is yet to announce guidelines for telecom equipment import.
"Some of our members have invested heavily in acquiring 3G spectrum, but the delay in permission for import of equipment may derail the 3G rollout and business plans," it said. AUSPI has also requested DoT to come up with a list of core equipment which would need prior clearance.
The controversy over security concerns regarding Chinese vendors has been rocking the telecom sector since the past few months. Though the government denies any blanket ban on import of telecom equipment and network gears from China, Huawei and ZTE complain that the government had not approved their deals in the past few months.
In the wake of security concerns raised by the Home Ministry over Chinese telecom equipment, DoT had said it would come up with a comprehensive list of core equipment that would require mandatory security clearance before placing purchase orders by any operator. However, on the hand, the Centre has further expanded the list of ‘core equipment’ that will now require mandatory security clearance.
Incidentally, the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), the body representing telcos offering mobile services on the GSM platform, has also approached Telecom Minister A Raja demanding that the additions to the core list be removed.
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