Open to set up cybersecurity lab in India to address 5G security concern: ZTE

Promising transparent functioning of its operation in India, Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE has said that it is ready to set up a cybersecurity lab in India to address 5G security concerns.

The firm, advocating the requirement of cyber regulation, is also ready to offer access to its product source code to the authorities.

"We feel this is a must needed step as we continue to expand our operations in India. It's just a matter of time. We will proactively talk to our customers, regulator and relevant stakeholders. We will offer them solutions and guarantee complete openness,” Xiao Ming, President of ZTE Global Sales, was quoted as saying in an ET report.

Of late, India has been evaluating the possibility of involving Chinese vendors in the launch and implementation of 5G. In Oct, the government had allowed ZTE's rival Huawei to participate in the 5G use case demos organised by the Indian Mobile Congress (IMC).

The official permission to allow Huawei to participate in the upcoming 5G trails is still awaited.

The government has come under pressure after media reports surfaced alleging Huawei is embedding snooping software in the source code of its servers to spy and access the data of other countries. The US has also raised security concerns regarding Huawei's 5G equipment.

Meanwhile, ZTE is ready to set up a cybersecurity lab in India on the lines of its labs in Rome, Italy, Brussels and China. The company said that cybersecurity is among the essential priorities for its products, R&D and service delivery.

"We work with government agencies, regulators, customers and third-party companies that are experts in the cybersecurity domain. We encourage unified security cleared by third party staff to perform verification rather than ourselves," Xiao added.

The firm also called for the participation of India's telecom players and developers to come together to resolve cybersecurity and data safety. Xiao warned that if it is not regulated, the problem will pose the biggest challenge.

Earlier, ZTE had urged the Indian government to auction 5G frequencies at cheaper rates making it easier for telcos to invest in next-generation technology.

The Chinese telecom equipment maker works with Vodafone Idea, Bharti Airtel and BSNL in India. In Nov 2017, it had conducted pre-5G trials with Airtel, Vodafone India and Reliance Jio.

Recently, ZTE had bagged a 4G expansion contract from Vodafone Idea for its five circles.