India’s decision to allow 5G trials without Chinese companies is sovereign: US

India’s recent decision authorising 5G trials without Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE is a sovereign one, a top State Department official has said, asserting that America is deeply concerned about the dangers of installing networks with equipment that can be manipulated, disrupted or potentially controlled by China.

India’s Department of Telecom last week approved applications of telecom companies Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and MTNL to conduct 5G trials but none of them will be using technologies of Chinese entities.

State Department Spokesperson Ned Price, at his daily news conference on Tuesday, said: “This was a sovereign decision on the part of the Indian government, so we refer you to the Government of India for any comment on that decision”.