Telecom security rules rattle foreign firms
31-07-2010
WTO compliance issues raised by trade lobbies
India's latest rules to secure its mobile networks have raised an uproar among trade bodies in US, Europe and Japan.
Over 10 leading trade bodies in the US have approached secretary of state Hillary Clinton, secretary of commerce Gary Locke, U.S. trade representative ambassador Ron Kirk and deputy national security advisor for international economic affairs ambassador Timothy J Roener, stating that India's new telecom security requirements "raise potential WTO compliance concerns, which left unchallenged could throw billions of dollars in sales and export opportunities of US companies at risk".
India's new rules require global telecom gear makers to place their source codes and other sensitive design elements in an escrow account which can be accessed by telcos and security agencies here in case of any security threat. Besides, global equipment firms like Nokia Siemens, Ericsson and Alcatel-Lucent, which manage and maintain networks of telcos here, should employ only Indian engineers for local operations. These firms would be given a 24-month deadline to comply.
"Among its new policies, India has mandated the transfer of technology from foreign equipment manufacturers to domestic ones, and is now contemplating requiring all equipment makers to escrow source code and other sensitive design elements when selling gear to telcos in India".
"This extremely sensitive and proprietary information is at the core of US ICT companies' products and the compromise of such information would severely harm their continued commercial viability" the 11 powerful trade lobbies say. They demand that the US government intervene to address these 'troubling developments'.
The US lobbies include United States Council for International Business, US-India Business Council, TechAmerica, Emergency Committee for American Trade, Business Software Alliance, Global VAST Forum, IT Industry Council, Software and IT Association and Semiconductor Industry Association
The US associations, along with industry federations from across Europe and Asia, have approached home minister P Chidambaram, telecom minister A Raja, commerce & industry minister Anand Sharma and the Prime Minister's Office, seeking that the country put its recently announced telecom security norms in abeyance.
These trade groups also alleged that India had failed to respond despite numerous attempts to "engage with the Indian government and to try and strike a balance between its security concerns and preserving a dynamic and growing market for information and communication technologies".
Over 20 of these lobbies from across the globe, in a joint communication to the Indian government, said since all stakeholders had not been consulted, the new rules on telecom security were inconsistent with global practices.
"This is deeply troubling because India has undertaken a number of important reforms in recent years that have enabled it to become a global leader in the ICT sector. We strongly believe that India is putting its global competitiveness at risk and will deter future ICT investment" their communication added.
European and Asian trade bodies such as Digital Europe, Communications and Information Network Association of Japan, European American Business Council, Japan Information Technology Services Industry Association, Japan Business Machine and Information System Industries Association are among bodies that have joined the American lobbies in taking up the issue with the Indian government.
India's telecom department has washed its hands of the new rules as its officials say the norms were laid down by security agencies and the home ministry.
The Centre on Wednesday said these rules were being incorporated into the licence agreements of all mobile operators with immediate effect. These amendments also add that telcos here would be subject to stiff financial penalties equivalent to 100% of the contract value if any spyware or malware is found in their imported equipment, post installation.
From Economic Times
India's latest rules to secure its mobile networks have raised an uproar among trade bodies in US, Europe and Japan.
Over 10 leading trade bodies in the US have approached secretary of state Hillary Clinton, secretary of commerce Gary Locke, U.S. trade representative ambassador Ron Kirk and deputy national security advisor for international economic affairs ambassador Timothy J Roener, stating that India's new telecom security requirements "raise potential WTO compliance concerns, which left unchallenged could throw billions of dollars in sales and export opportunities of US companies at risk".
India's new rules require global telecom gear makers to place their source codes and other sensitive design elements in an escrow account which can be accessed by telcos and security agencies here in case of any security threat. Besides, global equipment firms like Nokia Siemens, Ericsson and Alcatel-Lucent, which manage and maintain networks of telcos here, should employ only Indian engineers for local operations. These firms would be given a 24-month deadline to comply.
"Among its new policies, India has mandated the transfer of technology from foreign equipment manufacturers to domestic ones, and is now contemplating requiring all equipment makers to escrow source code and other sensitive design elements when selling gear to telcos in India".
"This extremely sensitive and proprietary information is at the core of US ICT companies' products and the compromise of such information would severely harm their continued commercial viability" the 11 powerful trade lobbies say. They demand that the US government intervene to address these 'troubling developments'.
The US lobbies include United States Council for International Business, US-India Business Council, TechAmerica, Emergency Committee for American Trade, Business Software Alliance, Global VAST Forum, IT Industry Council, Software and IT Association and Semiconductor Industry Association
The US associations, along with industry federations from across Europe and Asia, have approached home minister P Chidambaram, telecom minister A Raja, commerce & industry minister Anand Sharma and the Prime Minister's Office, seeking that the country put its recently announced telecom security norms in abeyance.
These trade groups also alleged that India had failed to respond despite numerous attempts to "engage with the Indian government and to try and strike a balance between its security concerns and preserving a dynamic and growing market for information and communication technologies".
Over 20 of these lobbies from across the globe, in a joint communication to the Indian government, said since all stakeholders had not been consulted, the new rules on telecom security were inconsistent with global practices.
"This is deeply troubling because India has undertaken a number of important reforms in recent years that have enabled it to become a global leader in the ICT sector. We strongly believe that India is putting its global competitiveness at risk and will deter future ICT investment" their communication added.
European and Asian trade bodies such as Digital Europe, Communications and Information Network Association of Japan, European American Business Council, Japan Information Technology Services Industry Association, Japan Business Machine and Information System Industries Association are among bodies that have joined the American lobbies in taking up the issue with the Indian government.
India's telecom department has washed its hands of the new rules as its officials say the norms were laid down by security agencies and the home ministry.
The Centre on Wednesday said these rules were being incorporated into the licence agreements of all mobile operators with immediate effect. These amendments also add that telcos here would be subject to stiff financial penalties equivalent to 100% of the contract value if any spyware or malware is found in their imported equipment, post installation.
From Economic Times
