Germany’s
government
is
planning
on
forbidding
telecoms
operators
from
using
certain
components
from
Chinese
companies
Huawei
and
ZTE
in
their
5G
networks,
German
paper
Zeit
Online
wrote
on
Monday.
The
ban
could
include
components
already
built
into
the
networks,
requiring
operators
to
remove
and
replace
them,
Zeit
Online
wrote,
citing
government
sources.
The
government,
which
is
currently
in
the
midst
of
a
broader
re-evaluation
of
its
relationship
with
top
trade
partner
China,
did
not
immediately
reply
to
a
request
for
comment.
Critics
of
Huawei
and
ZTE
say
that
their
close
links
to
China’s
security
services
mean
that
embedding
it
in
the
ubiquitous
mobile
networks
of
the
future
could
give
Chinese
spies
and
even
saboteurs
access
to
swathes
of
essential
infrastructure.
Huawei,
ZTE
and
the
Chinese
government
reject
these
claims,
saying
that
they
are
motivated
by
a
protectionist
desire
to
support
non-Chinese
rivals.
They
did
not
immediately
reply
to
a
request
for
comment
on
a
possible
ban.
Germany
passed
an
IT
security
law
in
2021
setting
high
hurdles
for
makers
of
telecommunications
equipment
for
next-generation
networks,
but
stopping
short
of
banning
Huawei
and
ZTE
as
some
other
countries
have
done.
A
new
report
shows
that
Germany
has
actually
become
even
more
dependent
on
Huawei
for
its
5G
radio
access
network
equipment
(RAN)
than
in
its
4G
network,
even
though
operators
have
avoided
using
the
firm’s
technology
for
the
core
networks.
Zeit
Online
said
the
government’s
cybersecurity
agency
and
interior
ministry
had
for
months
been
checking
if
there
were
components
in
the
growing
5G
networks
that
could
put
German
security
at
risk.
The
survey
had
not
officially
been
ended,
but
the
result
was
already
clear,
the
paper
said,
citing
government
sources.
The
government
would
ban
operators
from
using
certain
controlling
elements
from
Huawei
and
ZTE
in
5G
networks.
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