More regulatory relief for telecom gear makers
17-09-2010
Telecom software escrow clause to go
The government may soon delete the controversial regulation that requires global telecom equipment makers to deposit their software codes in the equivalent of a sealed envelop with the Indian security establishment.
The telecom and home ministries have accepted the argument that escrowing the source code may not address the security concerns raised by the government.
The vendors had among other things argued that their source codes contain third-party software for which they do not have the right to put into escrow.
An executive with a Chinese vendor said that another key limitation in revealing sources codes were that telecom equipment may have also been supplied to defence establishments.
Escrowing the source code updates on a regular basis will also entail huge additional costs.
The latest developments comes within weeks after the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) intervened and directed the home and telecom ministries to review the stringent security norms within the next 60 days. The PMO intervened after western vendors raised objections and US business lobbies sought the intervention of top figures in the Obama administration to challenge the new rules.
During the interim period, the PMO has asked the telecom department to allow mobile-phone companies and vendors to follow either the recently unveiled norms or the security guidelines issued last year. Last year's rules do not mandate vendors to share their source codes in an escrow account.
This has helped Chinese gear makers such as Huawei and ZTE to land contracts from Reliance Communications, Tata Teleservices and BSNL.
Based on story in Economic Times
The government may soon delete the controversial regulation that requires global telecom equipment makers to deposit their software codes in the equivalent of a sealed envelop with the Indian security establishment.
The telecom and home ministries have accepted the argument that escrowing the source code may not address the security concerns raised by the government.
The vendors had among other things argued that their source codes contain third-party software for which they do not have the right to put into escrow.
An executive with a Chinese vendor said that another key limitation in revealing sources codes were that telecom equipment may have also been supplied to defence establishments.
Escrowing the source code updates on a regular basis will also entail huge additional costs.
The latest developments comes within weeks after the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) intervened and directed the home and telecom ministries to review the stringent security norms within the next 60 days. The PMO intervened after western vendors raised objections and US business lobbies sought the intervention of top figures in the Obama administration to challenge the new rules.
During the interim period, the PMO has asked the telecom department to allow mobile-phone companies and vendors to follow either the recently unveiled norms or the security guidelines issued last year. Last year's rules do not mandate vendors to share their source codes in an escrow account.
This has helped Chinese gear makers such as Huawei and ZTE to land contracts from Reliance Communications, Tata Teleservices and BSNL.
Based on story in Economic Times
