Yahoo Finance India quietly cuts Huawei out of telecoms networks
India has quietly moved to strip out Huawei equipment from its telecoms networks amid growing tensions between the world's two most populous countries.
Officials in New Delhi have been asking telecoms executives to reduce their reliance on kit produced by the Chinese company. However, they have stopped short of a full ban that could further inflame tensions with China after border skirmishes.
China’s Huawei, which has been accused of posing an espionage risk by US officials, has steadily expanded its business in India, where smartphone use and demand for high-speed broadband Internet are soaring.
But it has found itself at the centre of a growing technology dispute between the US and China that has seen US allies rein in its use. Huawei has always denied any wrongdoing and maintains it is a private company with no links to Beijing.
The UK has demanded its telecoms operators remove Huawei kit from their 5G networks by 2027 amid pressure from the US and some MPs.
Neil Shah, a Mumbai-based analyst for Counterpoint Research, told The Telegraph that “anti-China” sentiment meant the Indian government and operators “are keeping distance in any association of committing future networks to Chinese vendors for the sheer optics of it”.
He added more vendors were looking at alternative suppliers and multiple vendors. “This essentially leaves less room for someone like Huawei or ZTE in current geo-political climate,” Mr Shah said.
It is understood there has been no official diktat from New Delhi, but Indian telecoms executives told the Financial Times that India that Government officials had signaled networks should begin a phased removal of Huawei equipment.
“It’s open now that the government is not going to allow Chinese equipment,” a telecoms industry executive said. “There is now clarity . . . It’s really game over.”
A Government official told the FT: “When it comes to big public contracts and critical infrastructure, we would prefer non-Chinese companies.
India’s main networks include Reliance Jio, controlled by Asia's richest man Mukesh Ambani, which was praised by US secretary of state Mike Pompeo as a “clean” network because of its lack of Huawei kit. Other networks including Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea have both relied on some Huawei equipment in the world’s second largest mobile market.
Tensions between New Delhi and Beijing are at the highest level for decades. At least 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a Himalayan border clash with Chinese troops in June. India banned Chinese social media app TikTok, which has been hugely popular with Indian consumers.
Huawei has already been effectively banned from India’s 5G trials, despite being involved in the initial process. Fellow Chinese telecoms firm ZTE has also been barred.
A Huawei India spokesman said: “We are confident of our future in India based on our commitment and capability to bring value to India. We will continue to work closely with all stakeholders including Government, customers and industry partners. We have 30-years of solid global track records of stringent compliance in cyber security in India and around the world and we have and will always remain compliant to all local laws and regulations.”
