India a strategic market, have lot of communication with regulators: Huawei

Chinese telecom gear maker Huawei on Thursday said the Indian government needs to think of sector regulations in the context of data, beyond conventional voice, as it termed the country a "strategic market" for the company.

Huawei -- which is awaiting New Delhi's decision on whether its equipment will be allowed in 5G trials -- asserted that it has a "lot of communication" with the regulators in India.

"I think, Indian government needs to think...because their way of management is mainly based on a voice dominant kind of way of thinking, and now it is data dominant.

"So what kinds of laws and regulation should they put in place I think, that is a new topic for Indian government," Huawei CEO and founder Ren Zhengfei said addressing a dialogue series 'A Coffee with Ren' at the company's Shenzhen (China) headquarters, which was livestreamed.

Zhengfei emphasised that infrastructure is critical for economic development of a country, and added that telecom is part of essential infrastructure.

Huawei has been in India since 1999, and has 3,000 employees at its research and development centre in Bengaluru. Overall, the company employs over 6,000 people here.

"...India has a lot of talent and good foundation for basic research...The Bengaluru R&D centre is an important centre and Indian market is also a strategic market for Huawei. For all these years, we have been operating in India market with very good performance," Zhang Wenlin, President, Corporate Strategy, Huawei said.

Wenlin said regulation in the Indian market is "relatively open", and that the company has a lot of communication with regulators in the country.

The US had barred American companies from working with Huawei but has given temporary reprieve till November. The country has banned the Chinese company over concerns of security and has been pressuring other nations to follow suit.

India, however, is yet to take a decision on whether it intends to place curbs on Huawei or allow the Chinese telecom equipment major to participate in the 5G trials.

Earlier this week, Telecom Secretary Anshu Prakash had said the government will keep national interest in mind while deciding whether the Chinese company should be allowed to participate in the future technology round.

Huawei India CEO Jay Chen had said in a recent statement that the company understands it is reasonable and the right approach for the Indian government to evaluate the network security carefully and then make an independent decision for 5G trials.

"It is well known that Huawei is closely working with all governments, including the Indian government on 5G technology, solutions and security issues. Beyond that, it is to be noted that Huawei has stepped up to advocate to the industry to sign the 'no backdoor' agreement with the Indian government to secure network security," he had said.

Chen had added: "Security is a marathon, and Huawei is part of the positive initiatives to improve India's network security and capability, which goes beyond just 5G.