Traders' body CAIT demands ban on China's Huawei, ZTE from India 5G rollout

Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) on Sunday urged the government to not allow Chinese firms Huawei and ZTE to participate in 5G network rollout in India, raising concerns on data security.

The traders' body has written a letter in this regard to Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.

The 5G refers to the next-generation mobile networks that promise super-fast download speeds and the ability to support critical infrastructure and, therefore, is more critical from the point of accruing data, it said.

"We may like to mention that in several countries both Huawei and ZTE Corporation have been charged with a laundry list of crimes including conspiracy, money laundering, bank and wire fraud.

"We are sure that our above request will be considered by you and necessary decision will be taken to protect not only the security of the country but also the privacy of the people of India through data and as such both Huawei and ZTE Corporation will not be allowed to participate in 5G network rollout in India," CAIT said in the letter to Prasad.

E-mails sent by PTI to Huawei India and ZTE India did not elicit any response till the time of filing the story.

US Federal Communications Commission recently designated Chinese firms Huawei and ZTE as "national security threats", saying the major step was aimed at protecting American communications networks from security risks.

CAIT has been running a campaign asking to boycott Chinese goods in the country.