Telecom operators including Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea (Vi) will get clarity regarding the trusted list in October 2021. For the unaware, the government had earlier announced that it would be coming out with a trusted list for the telecom operators to follow. This supposed trusted list is aimed to let operators understand which company they can source their network equipment from. None of the operators are allowed to purchase equipment from the companies that are not included in the list. But until now, the government hasn’t come out with a list of names. However, that’s going to change since, according to a HindustanTimes report, the telcos might get the list in the first week of October.
NCSC Said Operators Will Get to See First List on the First Week of October
Rajesh Pant, the National Cyber Security Coordinator (NCSC), was earlier designated as the authority to approve companies as trusted or not. According to the publication, Pant said that starting the first week of October, the telecom operators will get a list of trusted companies.
Pant explained the verification process thoroughly and said that even the biggest network equipment vendors would have to be verified. According to Pant, India is the first nation in the world to implement such a system where the telcos can only source their network equipment from the trusted sources.
This system came into place because of the rising security threats from India’s neighbouring nation China. The Chinese vendors, including Huawei and ZTE, aren’t expected to be included in the list. Even vendors such as Nokia and Ericsson will have to prove that they are trustworthy sources for the nation.
After the companies are approved, the telcos can purchase their equipment from them. The government doesn’t expect any bad impact in ease of doing business for the telcos. If there’s an emergency, the government will even give a one-time exemption.
