ZCZC
BCN-17
GERMANY-CHINA-TELECOM-5G-HUAWEI
Germany launches 5G auction amid row with US over Huawei
BERLIN, March 20, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Germany launched its auction Tuesday
for the construction of an ultra-fast 5G mobile network as a transatlantic
dispute rages over security concerns surrounding giant Chinese telecoms
equipment maker Huawei.
The United States has warned it could scale back the sharing of sensitive
information with Berlin if it does not exclude hardware made by Huawei from
the infrastructure, arguing that Chinese equipment could help Beijing spy on
Western companies and governments.
On Tuesday, Angela Merkel ruled out blocking Huawei from Germany’s 5G
network, but said stringent telecommunications laws will be drafted.
“So far, lots of countries have used Huawei technology,” said Germany’s
chancellor at a conference in Berlin.
“That’s why the federal government has not taken the approach of simply
ruling out any contractor or stakeholder, but we have set standards for those
bidding for 5G technology.
“We will also write these standards legally into our telecommunications
laws… We will give everyone a chance, but shouldn’t be naive, instead we
see that there are very different laws in China.”
‘5G’ — ‘fifth generation’ — is the latest, high-speed generation of
cellular mobile communications and Berlin will require winning bidders to
offer the service to at least 98 percent of German households and along
motorways and rail lines.
– Slow internet in Europe’s engine –
Germany, Europe’s biggest economy whose wireless networks however rank
only 46th in the world for download speeds, wants to close the sizeable
digital gap by making the shift to the ultra-fast 5G system.
Four operators are in the running to secure the 41 different frequency
blocks up for grab in the auction.
Among the contenders are Germany’s three main mobile network providers —
Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone and Telefonica Germany (O2) — plus United
Internet (1&1), a German company specialising in internet services.
Huawei is not one of the bidders but provides the four hopefuls with
essential hardware such as antennas and routers.
MORE/HR/1010
ZCZC
BCN-18
GERMANY-CHINA-TELECOM-5G-HUAWEI 2 LAST BERLIN
Jochen Homann, chairman of the German Federal Network Agency (BNA), says
excluding Huawei’s equipment would present significant problems for the
auction winners.
“Huawei is an important supplier, already present in our previous networks
— it will be difficult to do without such companies and this is not at all
what we want,” Homann told German public broadcaster ARD.
– US fears of security compromise –
The US has accused Beijing of using Huawei’s 5G network gear as a Trojan
horse, forcing operators to transmit data to the regime, but Washington has
not provided evidence to support their suspicions.
Huawei has strenuously denied allegations its equipment could be used for
espionage, while China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday lashed out at
what he called “abnormal, immoral” attacks on the Chinese firm.
US-led attempts to encourage other nations to ban Huawei equipment from
their telecoms infrastructure suffered a setback when Merkel’s government
decided against imposing company specific-restrictions on the 5G auction.
With other nations across the EU also grappling with the same issue, Jyrki
Katainen, vice-president of the European Commission, said Brussels will make
recommendations on security in digital networks.
But he told business newspaper Handelsblatt that it is “unlikely that we
will name one or two companies that should be excluded”.
According to media reports, the US ambassador to Germany last week warned
in a letter to Germany’s economy minister that Washington could review
intelligence cooperation unless Berlin agreed a Huawei ban.
The threat escalated when NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, US
General Curtis Scaparrotti, warned Germany that NATO forces would cut
communications if Berlin were to work with Huawei.
Scaparrotti said the US military is concerned about the risk of Germany’s
telecommunications being compromised as “particularly with 5G, the bandwidth
capability and ability to pull data is incredible”.
“If it also is inside of their defence communications, then we’re not
gonna communicate with them. And for the military that would be a problem.”
However, Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service (BND) shares some of the
US fears, according to a report.
BND security experts have asked the government to take China’s overall
strategy into account, including a law compelling cooperation in security
matters, according to the Der Spiegel magazine.
BSS/AFP/HR/1010