Germany considers ban on Huawei hardware in 5G networks

Officials in Germany push for Huawei ban amid national security concerns, according to Reuters

Germany is considering a ban on Huawei and ZTE telecoms and networking hardware being deployed in upcoming 5G networks, according to a report by Reuters.

It claims that ‘senior officials' are pushing for the ban amid national security concerns. Such a ban, if adopted, would follow on from bans already implemented in Australia and the US, while Japan's government is also mulling an outright ban against both Huawei and ZTE. The UK, too, is considering a ban.

It comes just ahead of an auction of 5G spectrum n Germany, with a ban potentially affecting business cases and, hence, the sums they are willing to bid in the auction.

"There is serious concern," one senior official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. "If it were up to me we would do what the Australians are doing."

Their concerns follow talks with counterparts in Australia and the US over their reasons for the blanket ban on Huawei and ZTE, and the baton has been taken up by opposition legislators in Germany's Bundestag.

"Excluding all investors from a certain country is the wrong approach," Katharina Droege, a Green Party member of the Bundestrag who co-authored a recent motion, told Reuters.

If it were up to me we would do what the Australians are doing

She continued: "But we need to be able to vet individual cases in order to ensure our critical infrastructure is protected. That could lead to the exclusion of Chinese firms from building our 5G infrastructure."

The concerns follow on from the passing of a National Intelligence Law by Chinese legislators in 2017, which obliges both organisations and individuals to "support, cooperate with, and collaborate in national intelligence work".

The fear is that such an all-encompassing law, especially one in a one-party state like China with no independent judiciary, could be used to compel any company operating in China - and its staff - to implement back doors in IT equipment.

Last week, notes Reuters, The Australian newspaper claimed that Huawei staffers had been used by Chinese intelligence to obtain access codes to infiltrate a foreign telecoms network.

While China has threatened action against Australia over its ban on Huawei and ZTE, Mike Burgess, director general of the Australian Signals Directorate, claimed that installing equipment from the two Chinese communications hardware vendors could put at risk water supply and electricity grid systems. Even the security of autonomous vehicles and Internet of Things (IoT) devices could be compromised.

The new disclosures come just days after state-owned China Telecom was accused of abusing its privileged points-of-presence on internet backbones around the world in order to interdict and re-route traffic.

Meanwhile, last week it was revealed that the UK government had warned BT, Vodafone, O2 and Three UK of a security review into UK telecoms infrastructure that could see certain suppliers banned from networks.

Such a move could affect Three UK, in particular, having already selected Huawei to help build out its 5G network.