Telecom equipment makers oppose India’s DoT mandatory local testing

Telecom equipment makers Ericsson, Nokia, Huawei, and ZTE are planning to officially oppose the Department of Telecommunications’ (DoT) order to implement the mandatory testing and certification of imported telecommunications equipment through TEC-approved local laboratories. India’s local telecom equipment makers, however, support the order and are of the view that the mandatory testing will address the potential security threats posed by telecom equipment from Chinese vendors like Huawei and ZTE. The Indian government is planning to test all types of telecom transmission gear, passive optical network products and equipment that telecom service providers use in last-mile broadband connectivity and network feedback devices. Chinese gear vendor Huawei said that the telecom department’s compliance timeline related to mandatory testing is tight, but it’s ready to abide by the testing procedure stated by the Indian government. TEC has eight testing labs in India and has been providing certification to private labs across Delhi, Bengaluru, Gurugram, Chennai, among other cities.