India will set up a national security committee to list “trusted and not trusted sources” of telecom vendors and devices, said union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Wednesday.
The committee will declare a list of trusted sources and products for telecom service providers; it will be headed by deputy National Security Advisor and comprise “all stakeholders”, he said.
“The cabinet committee on security gives approval for National Security Directive on Telecommunication Sector. Under this, in order to maintain integrity of supply chain security, government will declare a list of trusted sources/products for benefit of telecom service providers,” he said. “There may even be a second list of designated sources from whom no procurement can be done.”
ALSO READ: Next round of spectrum auction gets cabinet nod
Existing devices won’t be impacted, said Prasad about the cabinet decision.
The cabinet also approved the next round of spectrum auction in March. The department of telecommunications (DoT) plans to sell 2,251 megahertz (MHz) of spectrum. It will sell spectrum in the 700MHz, 800MHz, 900MHz, 1,800MHz, 2,100MHz, 2,300MHz, 2,500MHz bands.
“The conditions of the next spectrum auction will remain the same as the 2016 auction,” Prasad said. A notice inviting applications for sale of airwaves will be issued in December.
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