According to a government official familiar with the progress, the government has unveiled a beta version of an online marketplace that will include the names of “trusted” telecom equipment suppliers.
According to the official, the beta version will initially be available to a select group of telecom service providers (TSPs) and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) listed by India’s highest cybersecurity regulator, who will assist the government in collecting sample data on gear that can be qualified as trustworthy devices.
“We had a target of 15 April to launch the beta version of the portal. We have successfully launched it. It is not open to all stakeholders at present. With this, we will hopefully be able to launch the portal on the scheduled date of 15 June,” said the official mentioned above, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Since December, India’s national cybersecurity coordinator (NCSC), Lt. Gen. (retired) Rajesh Pant, has been working on the requirements for trusted telecom equipment suppliers.
The portal will also serve as a portal for all vendors seeking to be impaneled to monitor the status of their applications. Despite growing worries about cyber-attacks and cross-border monitoring, the government announced in December that it was working on a list of licensed telecom gear vendors. Following the fight at the Ladakh border last year, India blocked more than 200 Chinese applications and changed the guidelines for telecom equipment procurement.
Huawei and ZTE are part of a small group of multinational telecom equipment providers that includes Nokia, Ericsson, and Samsung. Chip or semiconductor suppliers such as Intel and Qualcomm Technologies, in addition to telecom equipment providers, will be scrutinized for inclusion in the list of trusted outlets.
With India preparing to phase out 5G wireless coverage later this year or early2022, except Chinese vendors may have cost consequences for telcos. According to the official, the procurement process reforms and stricter guidelines are being enforced in advance of 5G.