Global gear vendors oppose DoT diktat on mandatory local testing

Global telecom distributors akin to Ericsson, Nokia, ZTE and Huawei are more likely to oppose the telecom division’s diktat to run mandatory safety checks on imported community gear from October 1 by way of local labs, saying it is going to solely lead to duplication of certification exercise, disrupting community gear availability in India and delaying 4G community rollouts by at the very least 6-to-9 months. They are set to put in writing to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) that their gear is anyhow licensed by accredited non-public international labs earlier than deployment in India, and can press the federal government to defer the in-country screening deadline.

DoT’s determination although has enthused native telecom gear makers, who say the transfer will counter safety threats posed by Chinese telecom gear. The DoT, in a round dated June 23, has mandated that each one sorts of telecom transmission gear, passive optical community (PON) gear utilized in final mile broadband connectivity and community suggestions gadgets must endure in-country screening from October 1, 2020, by way of native labs recognised by its technical wing, the Telecom Engineering Centre (TEC).

Such certification shall grow to be obligatory from October 1 on the market, import or use of such telecom gear,” DoT mentioned in a round, including that the route is consistent with provisions of Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Rules, 2017. “This DoT notification, when effected, will lead to at least 6-to-9 months delay in mobile network rollouts and also further delay the introduction of 5G services in India,” a prime government of a number one international networks vendor instructed ET.

A senior government of one other international telecom vendor added that imported community gear is anyhow licensed by prime international labs underneath the Common Criteria Recognition Arrangement (CCRA) earlier than deployment in India, and DoT’s name for an additional spherical of security checks by TEC-approved native labs is duplication. “This will end up disrupting timely equipment supplies to our telco clients and derail network rollouts at a time when people are still largely working from home and need access to quality mobile broadband services.” The CCRA is a prime international company that defines widespread processes to certify tech merchandise utilized in infrastructure networks in telecom, energy, aviation and defence.

Local telecom gear makers, against this, have backed DoT’s directive. “…we have been demanding mandatory testing since 2010, and even the government, back in November 2012 had recognised the security threat posed by Chinese telecom equipment, although the exercise had been repeatedly postponed till now,” mentioned N.Ok. Goyal, chairman emeritus of the Telecom Equipment Manufacturers Association (TEMA), which represents native gear makers. China’s Huawei mentioned, “DoT’s compliance timeline is tight, but it’s ready to abide by the testing procedure stated by government, especially as it has been complying with standard testing procedures across markets globally”.

Telcos, nevertheless, downplayed worries about doubtless disruptions in community gear provides or rollout delays, saying DoT has sufficient TEC-approved labs to get the job finished on time. “DoT has increased the number of qualified labs to conduct testing in a phased manner, which ensures there are no disruptions to the (telecom gear) supply chain and that equipment can be tested and implemented in networks in a timely manner,” mentioned Rajan Mathews, director common of the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), which represents Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea. At press time, Ericsson, Nokia and ZTE didn’t reply to ET’s queries.