DoT Threatens to ban Chinese Phones

DoT Threatens to ban Chinese Phones

Kumar Deep, Aug 31, 2009 1453 hrs IST

Is the confusion ever going to end?

The Department of Telecom (DoT), in a closed door meeting with telecom service providers, has threatened to ban Chinese telecom equipment from entering the country.

Telecom firms reacted to this saying this will escalate their network roll out costs due to a monopoly of a couple of vendors.

The government's intention can scuttle the import of equipment worth $500 billion from China. Companies like Reliance Communications, which have used Chinese equipment in their networks, may face problems in future roll out.

However, the telecom ministry, in consultation with the ministry of home affairs, is expected to come out with fresh guidelines for equipment purchase which will address some of the concerns raised by the industry.

When contacted, Huawei, one of the Chinese companies in question, said it has not got any official notification on this subject but the company is committed to cooperating with DoT, the government of India and the operators to provide solutions that will address security issues and protect the ecosystem.

Source: UTVi