Germany's blow to Huawei
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser reported that they have reached an agreement with communication providers to keep China-based telecom companies away from the country's 5G network.
German Interior Minister Faeser stated at a press conference in Berlin that the German government reached an agreement with Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone, Telefonica Deutschland to remove the technology of Chinese companies such as Huawei and ZTE from the 5G network.
"We have reached a clear and strict agreement with the communication provider companies," Faeser said, arguing that with the agreement, they are protecting the communication of citizens, companies and the state in Germany as a business center.
Stating that the German government has informed Beijing about the agreement, Faeser also said that he does not expect any retaliation from Beijing regarding the planned restrictions on Chinese technology.
In the first phase, the agreement requires mobile operators to remove all critical components of Chinese origin from their core networks, such as small data centers where central network components are located and user data is processed, by 2026.
In the second phase, by 2029, Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone and Telefonica Deutschland will remove Chinese manufacturers' products such as antennas, transmission lines and towers from their networks.
From the end of 2029, critical components from Chinese manufacturers Huawei and ZTE will no longer be allowed to be used in the 5G network.
While communication providers have committed to replace "the critical functions of 5G network management systems of Huawei and ZTE manufacturers in the access and transport networks of the 5G mobile network with technical solutions from other manufacturers" by 2029, it is noteworthy that one of the possible alternatives is Nokia from Finland and the other is Ericsson from Sweden.
WHAT HAPPENED?
Previous plans by the German Federal government envisaged much shorter deadlines for telecom providers.
According to experts' estimates, 50 to 60 percent of the components in German 5G access networks have so far been sourced from China.
With 5G technology, it is aimed to increase the speed of data transfer in Germany, Europe's largest economy, and to create a high-capacity, low-cost communication infrastructure with short latency, even close to zero.
On the other hand, the US has long pressured Germany to refrain from using Huawei's equipment, while the German government has had a long-standing disagreement over how to deal with Chinese suppliers without disrupting trade and drawing Beijing's ire.
Meanwhile, 5G will allow large amounts of data to be moved quickly and reliably, while future networks will be used to control factories and power grids.
While 5G technology will also help autonomous driving make a breakthrough, experts see the danger that data could leak out of the core network, or that backdoors in antenna control software could be used to shut down parts of the network.
