Germany: Telecom rules leave 5G network door open for Huawei entry

Germany has finalised regulations for building 5G mobile networks in the country. Unlike the United States which will not exclude China’s Huawei Technologies, Germany will reportedly settle for Chinese tech giant's induction into the 5g network platform. According to reports, the authorities confirmed that Germany's security catalogue foresaw an evaluation of technical and other criteria, but that no single vendor would be barred in order to create a level playing field for equipment vendors. Steffen Seibert, a German government spokesman recently revealed that the government will not take a preemptive decision to ban any actor or any company

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Is it a smart decision? 

It has been reported by global media that Huawei currently holds the largest number of 5G technology patents across the globe, owing to a certain clause it gets the opportunity to take the lead in developing new infrastructure. The foreign affairs spokesperson for Germany's Social Democrats (SPD), Nils Schmid recently stated in an interview with a news agency that "It is a huge mistake to let a company under the influence of a state get involved so easily, especially in such a sensitive industry". 

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A 5G future 

Peter Altmaier, Germany's Minister for Energy and Economy recently stated, 5G technology is the critical infrastructure for a better technology in the future and the hardware and software Germany uses must have the "highest security standards".

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In July, Deutsche Telekom reportedly declared Germany’s first 5G network in progress with test phase with limited coverage in certain areas of Bonn and Berlin. Telekom mentioned that the production of 5G network infrastructure would continue in Berlin and Bonn, later covering cities such as Hamburg, Munich, Darmstadt and Leipzig. According to reports by the end of 2020, the company said 5G networks should be operational in Germany's 20 largest cities.

Notably, it has been reported that 'Ultra-fast 5G' data networks can transfer data 1,000 times faster than current 4G networks. They are designed to be used primarily for self-driving cars, connected factories and smart cities, among others. 

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