German Ministry of the Interior wants to ban Huawei components from the 5G network | Abroad

Many Western countries have for some time been focusing on the security risks associated with the use of Chinese technology, such as that of Huawei. For example, the Chinese company has been dealing with trade restrictions imposed by the United States since 2019. The US government accuses Huawei and other Chinese tech companies of enabling espionage through backdoors in their technology. Huawei has always denied those accusations.

Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Japan and Sweden have already banned or restricted the use of Huawei telecom equipment.

The German ministry is still investigating to what extent the mobile networks in the country are dependent on Huawei and ZTE equipment. That investigation has not yet been completed and discussions with other ministries involved in the decision continue, a spokesperson for the Ministry of the Interior said.

Huawei said in response that the German investigation is “discriminatory” and not based on technical assessments. The Chinese company warned that a ban will slow Germany’s digital transformation and lead to higher costs for consumers.

Germany has so far been more hesitant to implement a ban on Chinese parts than some of its allies. For example, despite pressure from the Americans, the country chose to allow Huawei components when telecom companies such as Deutsche Telekom started building their 5G networks. However, the German government has since taken a tougher stance on China and sought to reduce its dependence on individual countries following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Deutsche Telekom has already announced that a ban from 2026 is not realistic.