According to GSM Arena, the Indian government is reviewing a proposal from the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), which represents major carriers like Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel. The proposal would mandate that all smartphones sold in India have satellite-assisted GPS (A-GPS) tracking enabled permanently, with no option for users to turn it off. This is aimed at solving a long-standing issue where law enforcement only gets imprecise cellular tower data during investigations. In a confidential letter in July, the India Cellular & Electronics Association (ICEA), representing Apple and Google, strongly opposed the plan, calling it a global precedent and “regulatory overreach.” The telecom group also wants to disable pop-up alerts that notify users when their location is being accessed by a network. A key meeting on the matter scheduled for Friday was reportedly postponed.
Privacy vs. Precision
Here’s the thing: the carriers’ argument isn’t completely baseless from a law enforcement perspective. Cellular tower triangulation is notoriously imprecise, sometimes off by hundreds of meters in crowded cities. That’s a real problem when trying to locate someone in an emergency or criminal investigation. But the proposed solution is a massive, blunt-force instrument. Mandating a device-level, always-on satellite beacon is an entirely different ballgame. It fundamentally changes the relationship between the state, the device, and the individual. And let’s be clear, this isn’t just about finding criminals in the act. It’s about creating a permanent, searchable location log for potentially every citizen.
Unprecedented Overreach
The tech companies are right to call this out. ICEA’s point that this has “no precedent anywhere else in the world” is huge. Think about that. Not China, not Russia, not any authoritarian regime has a blanket, always-on satellite tracking mandate baked into every phone sold. That should give everyone pause. It’s one thing for a government to request location data from carriers or apps with legal oversight. It’s another to build a system where the *potential* for constant tracking is the default state of the hardware itself. The privacy and security concerns are enormous. What happens if this system is hacked? Or abused by corrupt officials? The risks are stratospheric.
The Bigger Picture
This isn’t happening in a vacuum. Remember the recent uproar over the government trying to force its Sanchar Saathi app onto all new phones? That got walked back after major backlash. Now this. It feels like a pattern of testing the waters for deeper technological control. The request to kill location access pop-ups is particularly telling. They’re not just asking for better tracking; they’re asking for *secret* tracking. That removes a critical layer of user awareness and consent. Basically, they want the capability to follow someone without them ever knowing a request was made. In a democracy, that’s a terrifying proposition. It erodes trust in both the technology and the institutions meant to protect people.
What Happens Next?
So what’s the likely outcome? The meeting’s postponement is interesting. It suggests the pushback is having an effect, or at least causing some bureaucratic hesitation. Apple and Google have immense leverage here. India is a colossal and crucial market for both. Their threat isn’t empty. Could they refuse to sell certain models? Or disable features? Possibly. It would be a nuclear option, but the precedent this sets is so dangerous they might consider it. The real question is whether India’s government views this as a necessary security tool or a line it shouldn’t cross. For a nation with a vibrant tech sector and ambitions to be a manufacturing hub, creating a unique, privacy-hostile hardware requirement seems like a spectacular own goal. It would spook global manufacturers and savvy consumers alike. Let’s see if cooler heads prevail.
