DoT reassures telcos over data shift to Amazon Web Services

A move by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to migrate its digital intelligence platform (DIP) to the servers of Amazon Web Services (AWS) from those run by state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) and the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DoT) triggered a fierce initial reaction from mobile phone companies. They seem to have backed down after the DoT told them that critical subscriber database records (SDRs) of customers won't be stored on AWS.

The DIP is used to help fight cyber crimes and fraud.

The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) had called the move "abrupt and unilateral" in a May 11 letter to DoT secretary Neeraj Mittal and telecom minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. COAI represents India's top telcos Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea. The carriers had added that the shift would compromise the privacy of consumers' personal data due to the inherent nature and architecture of such cloud-based solutions.


The DoT reassured them in a May 13 letter that subscriber database records (SDRs) of customers provided by the telcos are not being kept on the AWS cloud. ET has seen copies of the letters. The phone companies seem to have backed down since.

"Considering the assurance provided in the letter from AI & DIU wing of DoT dated May 13, 2024, that no subscriber database records (SDRs) of the customers provided by the TSPs will be kept on AWS NW/cloud directly or indirectly, in our opinion, the said issue is resolved," COAI said in a May 14 letter.

DoT officials told ET that the move stemmed from the current infrastructure being incapable of handling the surge in data generation. The department wanted to migrate the DIP platform to domestic cloud service providers and had asked them to apply as well, but they failed to meet the technical requirements.

"AWS is an approved vendor of the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY). It is also hosting CoWIN data. So, the concerns around consumer data and privacy are unfounded," a top DoT official told ET.

The DIP acts as a backend platform for all citizen-centric services offered by the government such as checking fraudulent connections, blocking phones, etc. It is a secure and integrated platform for real-time intelligence sharing, information exchange and coordination among the stakeholders, including telcos, law enforcement agencies, banks and financial institutions (FIs), social media platforms and identity document issuing authorities.

The platform is accessible to over 650 stakeholders over secure connectivity and relevant information is shared based on their respective roles. The platform is not accessible to citizens.

"The platform has been working on BSNL servers for around one year. But every day, the traffic is rising, forcing us to migrate to a cloud service provider," another official said.

The clarification came after operators raised their concerns over data privacy.

The development comes amidst greater government efforts to curb cybercrimes and financial fraud. To that end, the IT infrastructure has to be top-notch as complaints from people reporting possible cybercrimes run into the hundred-thousands daily.