Huawei allowed to test gears, DoT transfers officer for granting permission

The Department of Telecom (DOT) has suddenly transferred an officer after the government came to know that Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC) of the DOT granted certificate to Chinese telecom major Huawei last month to start testing procedure of telecom gears.

This came amidst the Centre latest decision to set up a national security directive on telecommunication sector, which will mandate service providers to purchase equipment from trusted sources. The experts believe that the decision to set up the directive is to keep Chinese firms away from getting the order to install telecom equipment in India amid continuing border stand-off with China in Eastern Ladakh.

Last month, the TEC gave three Mandatory Testing Certificate of Telecommunication Equipment (MTCTC) to Huawei Telecom India Private Limited. This certificate issued under MTCTC-Phase 2 procedure, which includes testing 5G equipment.

However, the DOT immediately kept the certificate under abeyance. Along with this, the government also put on hold similar certificate issued to other telecom firms.

Though the government has not banned Chinese firms from supplying equipment to Indian telecom service providers, the government is bringing neighbouring country’s firms under strict scrutiny.

After the border stand-off with China in Eastern Ladakh, the government restricted Chinese investments in India and banned over 200 mobile apps.

However, the government has recently included Chinese telecom equipment company Huawei in working groups for the rollout of 5G networks in the country. Huawei and ZTE major telecom firms from China supplying equipment to Indian telecom service providers.