Chinese telco ZTE is on the hunt for new routes into India

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

ZTE is in talks for transfer of technology and designs and formation of a joint venture with Indian companies, TOI reported. The move comes as the company is looking to freeze on the business amid Indian government’s constant concerns towards security. Apart from ZTE, Huawei is also facing the heat from the Indian government amid border tensions between the two Asian nations.

Nonetheless, the telecom provider ZTE believes that having an Indian partner will help bring in the “critical trust factor” into its operations which will not only enable it to service existing telecom and network companies, but also gaining new business. “ZTE has begun conversations with some credible Indian manufacturers who it is looking to partner with, through a joint venture, for telecom and network business. The company is ready to transfer technology, engage in research and development and design, while the Indian partner would need to make investments for the manufacturing,” TOI quoted a source.

Conversations have already been held with some top Indian contract manufacturers and are at initial stages. I may or may not turn into a joint venture, the source further said to TOI. Both Huawei and ZTE, who had a strong telecom network and equipment presence in India, have been relegated to the fringes now.

Like many other countries in the West, the Indian government is seeking to allowing gear only from ‘trusted’ locations, considering the threat of espionage and cyber attacks. For private network operators such as Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, the government has stipulated checks and norms for the deployment of telecom equipment. These telcos are allowed to use Chinese equipment only if they are maintaining or upgrading existing