Ban on Chinese equipment: No communication from DoT yet, private telcos say

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is yet to issue a formal order or talk even informally to private telcos Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea to desist from using Chinese telecom equipment for any of their future expansion plans, senior executives from both the companies said.

Among the three major domestic telecom operators, only Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea have been using Chinese equipment, while Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio Infocomm uses equipment made by South Korea’s Samsung.

Any “knee-jerk” reaction to bar private telcos from using Chinese equipment is also likely to have cost implications for both the telcos, an executive at Bharti Airtel said.