The Indian government is evaluating a 'rip and replace' plan to systematically remove Chinese telecommunications equipment from mobile networks for national security reasons. The Ministry of Home Affairs has tasked the Ministry of Telecommunications with assessing the usage and replacement costs of equipment from vendors like Huawei and ZTE.
Since June 2021, India has utilized a 'trusted source' mechanism requiring operators to procure equipment only from certified suppliers. While Nokia, Ericsson, and Samsung have been approved, Huawei and ZTE have not received certification, effectively barring them from the 5G market.
The current assessment focuses on legacy equipment deployed before the policy. While Reliance Jio does not use Chinese hardware, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, and the state-owned BSNL have deployed such equipment in their networks.
Industry experts estimate the potential cost for Airtel and Vodafone Idea to remove Chinese software and hardware at $3 billion. It remains unclear whether these expenses will be covered by the government or the operators themselves.
Indian operators are already facing financial pressure due to 5G investments and ongoing fiber and infrastructure upgrades. A large-scale replacement would incur additional costs for procurement, network modification, deployment, and maintenance.
