NEW DELHI: The Department of Telecom (DoT) on Wednesday said that with growing concern in many countries about alleged security threats from Chinese telecom equipment manufacturers, it would “carefully” study the issue. Telecom secretary Aruna Sundararajan also said that no decision had been taken on allowing Chinese firms to participate in the highly anticipated 5G trials to be conducted in India.
“We have not taken a decision whether they can take part in the trials.
Many countries have expressed security concerns, so India will also have to study it very carefully,” Sundararajan told reporters on the sidelines of the launch of India’s first indigenously developed semiconductor chips for 4G, 5G and LTE modems by Bengaluru-based Signalchip.
Sundararajan’s comments come amidst growing clamour about security threats from Chinese firms, with the United States and Australia banning Chinese telecom giant Huawei.
As for 5G trials, Sundararajan said that a committee had been set up to look into the matter and that it would decide on “what will be the size... duration of the trial”. It will also define parameters like the amount of spectrum to be used and the locations they will roll out in.
Meanwhile, regulator TRAI’s chairman R S Sharma said at the World Mobile Congress in Barcelona that it will stand by its spectrum pricing recommendations, including for 5G, even though some operators say the base prices are high.