If commercial telecom service providers do not willingly purchase some of their telecom equipment from domestic manufacturers, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) may impose this requirement, a senior DoT official has informed Business Standard.
The design-linked reward scheme on telecom devices, which the government has been promoting, has received a positive reaction; 27 domestic manufacturers, including MSMEs, have applied under the programme.
Nevertheless, despite the strong emphasis on “Make in India,” the country’s two operators have contracted with international telecom equipment companies like Ericsson and Samsung for the initial phase of the 5G rollout.
For BSNL, a state-owned company, the government has decided to only purchase 4G and 5G equipment from Indian vendors.
Because of this, TCS and C-Dot have teamed up to receive the contract for the rollout.
Reliance Jio, who claims to have created its own exclusive 5G technology and apparatus, is considering producing some of the goods in the nation.
According to a Reliance Jio representative, the company will use its own equipment in some areas but believes that using a combination of purchasing from large international companies while also using Indian technology and manufacturing facilities in India is the best way to stay current with global technology.