India to bar BSNL from sourcing gear from Huawei, ZTE; may also bar pvt telcos from using Chinese gear

The Indian government will bar Chinese companies from providing any telecom equipment to state-run telcos and may also prohibit private mobile phone operators from using gear supplied by the likes of Huawei and ZTE going forward, a senior official said, marking India’s first major economic reaction to the skirmishes on the border at Galwan region, with Chinese troops.

The telecom department will soon also cancel a 4G telecom equipment tender floated by state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd. (MTNL) and rework it to keep out Chinese vendors, the official said.

“The government has taken a decision to cancel the tender which was floated (by BSNL) earlier this year,” the senior government official told ET. “We will likely also not allow private operators to use Chinese gear in the future and will encourage domestic telecom equipment makers”.