US telcos press for overhaul of infra security rules

KOLKATA: Influential American lobbies such as the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) and the US-India Business Council have asked New Delhi for changes in telecom infrastructure security rules.

These groups have demanded a drastic overhaul of rules by addressing their concerns under the US-India Information & Communications Technology Dialogue — a platform that anchors strategic deliberations on encryption and lawful intercept policy between governments and private sectors of the two countries.

In identical letters dated September 13 to home secretary GK Pillai, telecom secretary PJ Thomas and the Prime Minister’s Office, TIA president Grant Seiffert and USIBC president Ron Somers called for comprehensive dialogue under this platform.

The letters, viewed by ET, say the dialogue will help allay India’s telecom security fears “in a manner that does not negatively affect its trade relationship with the US.”

The TIA is an umbrella organisation of 600 global ICT majors in the US, including Intel, Ericsson, AT&T Wireless, Qualcomm, Telcordia Technologies, Apple, Microsoft, Alcatel-Lucent, Cisco Systems, Motorola, Sprint-Nextel and Verizon.

Under the new rules announced in August, foreign equipment companies must put their software in the equivalent of a sealed envelope to be opened by Indian authorities only during a security threat. The rules also stipulate penalties of 100% of the contract value on vendors if any spyware or malware is found in the imported equipment and allow Indian government officials to inspect all manufacturing plants of vendors globally.

Foreign vendors have been vehemently protesting the rules, arguing that the guidelines are detrimental to their business interests and go against the spirit of global trade practices.

The communique from the US lobbies are on similar lines. They include a detailed technical paper underscoring global best-practices in telecoms infrastructure security. For instance, on contracts between mobile service providers and gear vendors, the paper notes: “It’s an accepted global practice that the telecom service provider-vendor relationship is governed by a private contract between the two parties. Security provisions are included in a contract based on the needs of the TSP, which has a commercially vested interest in ensuring maximum security to its network.

Governments should refrain from prescribing the terms of such a private contract as it unduly interferes in the establishment of a contractual commercial relationship.”

It remains to be seen if this goes down well with India’s security establishment.

“The US, EU, Japan and other major economies have all grappled with the same challenges facing the Indian government. Over the past two decades, these countries have developed legal frameworks and processes that have enhanced national security, provided important tools to law enforcement agencies and fostered the continued growth and innovation of the ICT sector. We believe the attached technical paper should serve as a first step towards a more comprehensive engagement between your government, our members and other key stakeholders,” wrote the US business lobbies in their letters.

Such comprehensive dialogue, they feel, “will lead to innovative and effective technical and policy solutions to the challenges of telecoms infrastructure security, encryption and lawful interception.”

This comprehensive engagement, they say “could fall under the US-India ICT Dialogue, which since 2008 has facilitated ongoing discussions on encryption and lawful intercept policy between the governments and private sectors of both countries.”

The latest communique comes just over a month after 11 leading trade lobbies across the US, Europe and Japan pressured the government to overturn the norms, warning that India may be running foul of global trade rules and setting a dangerous precedent for other countries.

The US business lobbies had even enlisted the intervention of top figures in the Obama administration, including secretary of state Hillary Clinton, to challenge these new rules that gave Indian agencies the power to slap stiff financial penalties. The rules also gave Indian lawmakers potential access to source codes of telecom gearmakers and requires them to employ only Indian engineers for local operations.