Due to concerns about national security, Germany announced on Thursday ( Jul 11 ) that it will gradually phase out Huawei and ZTE components in its 5G networks in the future.
Some are worried that Berlin’s latest move to reduce its economic reliance on Beijing is making sense, and it comes in response to EU cautions that the businesses could be at risk.
By the end of 2026 at the latest, Huawei and ZTE components will no longer be used in” core” 5G mobile networks, according to the interior ministry in Berlin.
By the end of 2029, telecoms firms must have replaced their systems in the 5G exposure and transmission system.
According to Interior Minister Nancy Faeser,” We are protecting the central nervous systems of Germany as a company place,” and we are also guarding the state’s communication systems.
” We must lower safety hazards and, unlike in the past, prevent one-sided relationships”.
According to the ministry, 5G networks make up Germany’s” important infrastructure” and are crucial for the operation of industries ranging from health to transportation and energy.
Telecoms sites may become protected from attacks, which could be an “existential risk”, it added.
Authorities have reached partnerships with Germany’s 5G network providers, Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone and Telefonica, on banning Huawei and ZTE.
Government sources had previously indicated in September of last year that Berlin was considering doing this, but the times are later than originally anticipated to give businesses more time to adopt the new methods.
Faeser said Beijing had been informed about the restrictions, but she would not say whether she feared punitive measures from China.
” For me as interior secretary it is a problem of finding requirements for telecommunications network, for critical infrastructure, and I have done that”, she told a press conference.
FRAYING ECONOMIC Relationships
Officials considered whether the company had any influence on the decision to implement the ban, whether it had been directly or indirectly controlled by the government, or whether it had engaged in activities that endangered Germany or other EU nations.
China and Germany have huge had near ties, with Germany’s important manufacturers- from car companies to machine-tool makers- exporting large quantities of products to the world’s number two economy.