The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) will not compensate telecom companies for bearing the cost of implementing the new security norms for importing network equipment, say news reports.
DoT has also reportedly said that the operators should ensure that imported equipment is tested in Indian certification laboratories by April 2013.
Prior to this, operators had requested DoT for fiscal benefits, including lower revenue share for spectrum usage and decreased contribution to the Universal Services Obligation (USO) Fund.
The new security rules for importing telecom gear, issued by DoT earlier this year, requires operators to invest in a number of facilities, such as establishing equipment testing labs and location-based services.
Operators are required to provide the location of a subscriber up to 50 metres of a mobile tower through location-based services.
According to the operators, it will cost $5 billion to comply with the latest regulation.
The operators had also suggested that they be allowed to obtain certification from test labs in other countries.
They had also asked DoT for leeway in the accuracy levels required for locating subscribers using location based technology.
Rejecting these requests, DoT has said that this issue was one of national security and test labs have to be established within the country over the next two years.
On the issue of location-based services, DoT has said that this facility was a part of mobile services, which the operators would have to launch commercially.
Mobile operators had argued that security was primarily a government-related issue and since the onus was being put on the operators, there had to be some form of compensation.
DoT also plans to impose a penalty of Rs 500 million, if any security breach is found on the operator’s network.
