According to a recent media report, Germany intends to substantially reduce the presence of Chinese components, such as those from Huawei and ZTE, in its 5G mobile network by 2029, with a preliminary milestone set for the year 2026.
Public broadcasters NDR, WDR, and the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper reported that government officials and telecom operators like Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone, and Telefónica have now agreed on a two-phase plan to phase out Chinese components from their 5G infrastructure.
WDR indicated that this agreement will soon be formalised in writing. Initially, the government aimed for a faster phase-out, the broadcaster noted.
According to the plan, the core network of 5G, which includes crucial data centres for data processing and transmission, will be free of Chinese hardware by 2026.
By 2029, the access network, which links users to the core network via radio masts, will also be largely devoid of any Chinese components. Additionally, the management of the access network will be entirely free of Chinese hardware.
Once it’s approved and finalised, the agreement would mean the government would forgo imposing a legal ban, but telecom operators would face fines for non-compliance.
Telecom operators affected by this plan have not confirmed the deal to WDR. A spokesperson for Germany’s Interior Ministry mentioned that an audit of critical components in the 5G network is ongoing and nearing completion.
A report released in June by the European Commission revealed that only 10 EU countries have restricted Chinese companies’ hardware in their 5G networks.
Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton previously criticised the EU countries for being “too slow” in banning high-risk vendors. The European Commission’s 2020 “toolbox” for 5G allowed for the exclusion of Huawei and ZTE, labelling them as a “high-risk” company.
In July 2023, Germany introduced a new “China Strategy,” which highlighted technological independence as a key element in its efforts to reduce long-term dependency on China.
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