Centre instructs BSNL to not use Chinese equipment for 4G upgradation

The Department of Telecom (DOT) has asked state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) to not use any Chinese telecom equipment during its 4G upgradation in view of the ongoing border dispute between India and China at the Line of Control (LAC).

Sources close to Zee News stated that the telecom department has conveyed the message that the tender process regarding the matter needs to be reworked.

Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) has also received a similar message to not use Chinese equipment for upgradation.

Further, India will also mull over the information and communications technology (ICT) strategy for 5G rollout in the country with Chinese companies ZTE and Huawei after the recent border dispute.

Moreover, all private service sectors will also be instructed to reduce their dependence on Chinese equipment.

According to government sources, there have been several concerns around network security of Chinese equipment in the past.

The Indian army was engaged in violent clashes with the Chinese forces with Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh's Galwan Valley on Monday that claimed the lives of 20 Indian jawans, most of whom were "exposed to sub-zero temperatures in the high altitude terrain" and later succumbed to their injuries.

It is the first incident involving the casualty of an Indian soldier in a violent clash with the Chinese Army after 1975 when four Indian soldiers were killed in an ambush at Tulung La in Arunachal Pradesh.

Indian intercepts revealed that the Chinese side suffered 43 casualties including dead and seriously injured, ANI reported citing sources.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for an all-party meeting at 5 PM on June 19 to discuss the India-China conflict along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).