T

he Cabinet Committee on Safety on Wednesday (December 16) approved the proposal to establish a new National Security Guide on the telecommunications sector which will help to distinguish telephone products and their resources from those 'honest' and 'untrustworthy’ categories.

It is expected that the decision of the Center will make it difficult for Huawei, ZTE and other Chinese companies to provide operational resources to Indian telecommunications players. Both Huawei and ZTE are under investigation in a number of countries, including the US, for allegedly installing backdoor or 'trap door' vulnerabilities and for testing the Chinese government. Several countries have already banned the use of Huawei and ZTE devices.

The process of selecting reliable products will be determined by the designated official, who is the National Cyber Security Coordinator. Telecom service providers are being asked to connect new devices which are trustworthy products. The designated officer will make its decision based on the approval of the committee chaired by the NSA Deputy (National Security Advisor), ”said Telecom and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.

Prasad added that the NSA deputy would lead the National Security Committee on Telecom, which would also have members from other departments. According to the minister, the new committee will also have independent experts and two members from the telecommunications industry.

"The Cabinet on Security Committee approves the National Security Directive on the Telecommunication Sector. Under this, in order to maintain the integrity of the procurement security, the government will announce a list of trusted sources to assist telecommunications service providers," Prasad said.

The center will also provide a list of resources to telecom service providers for which no product can be purchased. The new directory will take effect 180 days after approval.The Union Cabinet on Wednesday again welcomed the next round of campaign auctions in March. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) plans to sell 2,251 megahertz (MHz) spectrum. It will sell spectrum to 700MHz, 800MHz, 900MHz, 1,800MHz, 2,100MHz, 2,300MHz, 2,500MHz band.