A day after the government said all operators will be allowed to participate in the upcoming 5G trials, RSS affiliated Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) on Tuesday said Chinese firm Huawei should not be allocated airwaves for 5G network trials to ensure that India’s security interests are not compromised.
In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the outfit claimed that there was ample evidence that led to the suspicion that Chinese companies indulge in collecting sensitive information through devices and equipment that it exports.
SJM’s co-convener Ashwani Mahajan said the organisation has made representations to the department of telecommunications to caution and alert it to “various threats Huawei brings in”.
Sun Weidong, the ambassador of China in India, said in a tweet: “Glad to know all players got equal chance to participate in 5G trial in India. A welcome move conducive to initiatives such as Digital India. Hope Chinese companies continue to enjoy open, transparent business environment and a level playing field in India for a win-win cooperation.”
Stating that its words of caution were “either over-ruled or were deliberately ignored”, the SJM, however, said it requests Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his office to intervene as India’s security interests cannot be compromised in this digital era. Noting that “Chinese information warfare doctrine” is the core of its military strategy, Mahajan said in the letter: “We request you to immediately restrict Huawei and other Chinese firms from operating in the Indian market and conducting 5G trials.”
“Many countries suspect that Chinese firms indulge in stealing massive amounts of military and technological secrets through cyber-hacking,” Mahajan said.
Meanwhile, the telecom department held a meeting with various service providers to discuss 5G trials.
The meeting was chaired by telecom secretary Anshu Prakash and was attended by senior representatives of Airtel, Vodafone Idea, Reliance Jio and all equipment vendors, including Huawei.
“Broad road map for the trials was discussed. The DoT is expected to allot spectrum soon and trials are expected to start in January-March quarter,” telecom officials said.
