Huawei seeks clarification on equipment ban

Chinese telecom equipment vendor Huawei on Friday expressed concern over reports that the government was considering imposing a ban on it and called for "a fair and non-discriminatory policy" to address the issue of security clearance for its products.

Although it said it had received no official communication to this effect, Huwaei, which has been present in India for over 10 years, said that it hoped that in the "interest of the industry that a fair and non-discriminatory policy to address this issue is (put) in place."

"A mutually-beneficial and win-win resolution can be realised through transparent and sincere communication and cooperation," Huawei, which in the past has supplied orders to public and private sector telecom firms, said in a statement.

The company was responding to reports that suggested that based on an advisory from intelligence agencies, the Department of Telecom had decided not to recommend procurement of equipment from Chinese manufacturers unless there is complete supply chain overseeing and auditing to the satisfaction of DoT.

Telecom operators are required to get a security clearance before placing purchase orders for equipment with the foreign equipment vendors.

The Chinese company, however, said that it has not received official communication on this matter. "Nevertheless, we have read media reports and are deeply concerned and surprised to know about this development.

"Huawei India is currently evaluating and understanding the latest development and seeking clarifications from the concerned authorities."

Intelligence agencies had raised concerns over deploying telecom networks using equipment from Chinese vendors citing security reasons.

"Huawei is willing to cooperate with all the relevant Indian government agencies to help solve their concerns on the security issue in the interest and growth of the overall Indian telecom Industry," it said.

Nokia Siemens, Ericsson, Motorola and ZTE, also from China, are other players in the telecom network equipment space.