The Centre will start 3G spectrum allocation to pvt firms from today. The government may have announced allocating third-generation (3G) spectrum to seven private telecom firms from Wednesday, but operators are expected to roll out this services only by early next year amid apprehensions over security clearance of telecom equipment they have to import from China.
The operators expect to place the orders for setting up 3G technology infrastructure from mid-September onwards but are apprehensive about security clearance from Indian security agencies as most of the telecom equipment they have to import are to be sourced from China.
"There are new guidelines and templates of agreements between telecom service providers and equipment vendors in place. Telecom operators will be able to place the orders with any foreign firm, including from China. But we fear that the problems will be different on the ground level, as a large chunk of telecom equipment imported by Indian telecom operators are from China," a top official with a telecom equipment provider told MAIL TODAY.
Recently, the Centre had lifted the ban on procuring telecom equipment from foreign vendors in consultation with the ministry of home affairs to address security concerns.
The Indian government had earlier banned the import of Chinese handsets without IMEI numbers. Over the past six months, India's simmering mistrust of China has come to a boil in the telecom equipment market.
India's concerns stem from suspicions that foreign-made equipment, particularly Chinese gear, represented security risks given the possibility that sensitive information could be transmitted to foreign intelligence agencies through firmware backdoor.
"We are yet to see action turning to reality. We are still concerned about how security agencies would offer security clearances to Chinese telecom equipment. It has to see seen how that translates at the ground level. The government should ensure that we are not harassed," said another telecom equipment provider.
The government has told telecom operators to self-certify and take responsibility for the equipment they import from foreign vendors, especially from China.
While the new regulations seem to level the playing field for Chinese equipment vendors, they could still suffer from the common perception of having close ties to the Chinese government.
Operators, faced with crippling fines, are likely to show preference to the more transparent Western vendors with long track records.
By the end of June, a total of 450 orders amounting to more than Rs 9,700 crore had been put on hold due to the security clearance blockade. Of these, 27 had been approved, all with western vendors, such as Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson and Nokia Siemens.
As many as seven operators, including Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Tata Teleservices, Reliance Communications (RCom), Aircel, Idea and STel had bagged 3G spectrum in select circles.
Operators are confident that they can roll out services by the end of this year or early next year. State-run operators BSNL and MTNL were already given 3G airwaves in advance last year and have rolled out 3G services.
The government will allocate 3G spectrum to Bharti Airtel, RCom, Vodafone and others on Wednesday, as the defence ministry has agreed to handover required quantity of radio airwaves.
We fear that the problems will be different on the ground level, as a large chunk of telecom equipment imported by Indian telecom operators are from China.
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