Amid uncertainty over the inclusion of China’s Huawei in the list of ‘trusted sources’ for purchase of telecom equipment, Jay Chen, the company’s Vice-President for the Asia-Pacific region, on Wednesday expressed confidence that Huawei will not be blocked, and instead will be welcomed by the Indian government.
The statement follows the Department of Telecom amending the licence conditions earlier this month, mandating that services providers procure telecom equipment only from ‘trusted sources’ as defined by the government. The move, which comes into effect from June 15, will also require service providers to take permission from the National Cyber Security Coordinator (NCSC) for upgradation of existing networks utilising equipment not designated as trusted products.
“...Not only 5G, but India as a market is very important for Huawei. We entered this market almost 20 years back and have the full operation function in India. We even put an international business centre here such as the network service centre in Bengaluru, which serves the global customer from almost 40 countries. So obviously India is very important,” Mr. Chen said while replying to a query during a virtual roundtable.
He added that the company worked closely with its customers as well as the government. “We believe that Indian government will make the right decision which will benefit the country. We believe, based on our very clear record in India and the very good engagements with Indian government before, I believe Indian government will welcome Huawei. So we have this confidence,” he said.
Prior to his role as the Vice-President of Asia Pacific region, Mr. Chen was heading the India operations for many years.
Addressing questions over the possibility of the company being blocked in India, he added that, “This is not the logic according to our business prediction; we don’t think that way...In simple language, we do not agree to the claim that we might be blocked...this will benefit the Indian market and will be the right decision,” he added.