Huawei must be in play in India: Sunil Mittal

Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Mittal on Thursday supported Chinese telecom equipment vendor Huawei Technologies to be allowed in all telecom operations in India, hinting towards even 5G trials saying their products are extremely good and efficient.

US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross earlier in the day said the security concerns over Chinese telecom gear maker, Huawei Technologies, is security related not on protectionism and advised India to refrain from using the Chinese vendors equipment.

"While we do think that Huawei is important, but we do feel that there is a genuine security concern," Ross said.

He was speaking in a panel discussion at the India Economic Summit today.

Sunil Mittal in response to Ross, also in the panel said Huawei products have been used in Indian telecom sector over the last many years and they have been effective and efficient.

"They (Huawei) should be in play. Huawei for the last 10 to 12 years have been extremely good with their products to the extent that I can say that we have been using their 3G and 4G products which are significantly superior to Nokia and Ericsson. India must use this leverage," Mittal said.

Indian government is yet to take a call on allowing Huawei in 5G trials.IANS