After laptops, tablets, govt moots import licence for broadband gear

The Centre is mooting bringing tech products used in fibre-based home broadband networks under an import licensing regime to encourage local manufacturing and cut import dependence, according to a report by The Economic Times (ET).

Sources were quoted as saying that The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is looking at a proposal to bring in a licensing regime for the import of products such as Wi-Fi access points, ethernet switches, wireless radio links, and gigabit passive optical network (GPON) OLT/ONT systems.

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) will mandate telcos to seek prior approval from the Centre for importing such network gear if the proposal is okayed.

Senior telecom industry executives told ET that such a move would make home broadband services more expensive and lead to supply chain bottlenecks that could disrupt the expansion of fibre-based home broadband networks by companies like Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel.

Centre restricts import of laptops, computers

On August 3, DGFT imposed a licensing requirement for imports of laptops, tablets and personal computers in a surprise move. These products previously did not need import licences. The Centre had cited security concerns for the decision. These imports would be subject to a valid licence for restricted imports. This move aims to promote domestic manufacturing of these products and reduce reliance on imports from China. After pushback from the IT hardware industry, the government extended the timeline to November 1, 2023.

Telecom industry executives also said any restriction on imports of such telecom products will hike the cost of network deployment and hinder the Centre’s targets around broadband penetration.

A senior telco executive said that any move to put these telecom devices under an import licensing regime would be retrograde.