In October last year, the German authorities had said that there was no legal basis to exclude any vendor from 5G deployments, following warnings from the U.S authorities
The German government is currently considering the implementation of stricter security requirements in a move to exclude Chinese vendor Huawei from future 5G contracts in the country, German newspaper Handelsblatt reported.
The report, citing government sources, said German government officials were discussing setting high security standards for the deployment of 5G networks that Huawei could not achieve, effectively blocking the Chinese firm.
Officials were also considering the possibility of implementing changes to the German telecommunications law as a last resort, according to the report.
In October, the government had told a group of lawmakers that there was no legal basis to exclude any vendor from 5G deployments following warnings from the U.S authorities. However, the German government recently said that the security of 5G networks was “extremely relevant.”
Last month, Deutsche Telekom said that it would review its vendor strategy over security concerns.
A number of countries, including the U.S., Japan, the U.K., Australia and New Zealand, have already taken certain steps to block or limit purchases of network equipment from Chinese vendors, over security allegations.
Earlier this week, Ren Zhengfei, Huawei’s founder and CEO, said that his company does not spy for the Chinese government and that it would not respond to improper government requests for information.
“When it comes to cybersecurity and privacy protection, we are committed to siding with our customers. We will never harm any nation or any individual,” he said. “China’s ministry of foreign affairs has officially clarified that no law in China requires any company to install mandatory back doors. Huawei and me personally have never received any request from any government to provide improper information,” Ren added.
The executive also highlighted that Huawei has already signed over 30 commercial contracts in the 5G field and already shipped 25,000 5G base stations.
U.S lawmakers introduce new bill targeting Huawei, ZTE
In related news, a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers introduced bills on Wednesday that would ban the sale of U.S. chips or other components to Chinese vendors — including Huawei and ZTE — that violate US laws.
The proposed bill was introduced by Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI), Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ).
If passed, the bill would require the U.S. president to ban the export of U.S. components to any Chinese telecommunications company that violates US sanctions or export control laws.
The bill stipulates that penalties for violating U.S. export control laws or sanctions cannot be withdrawn until a pattern of compliance and cooperation over the course of a year proves that the practices by Chinese firms have been changed.
The bill also prohibits any executive agency official from modifying any penalty imposed on Chinese telecommunications companies, their agents, or affiliates, until the president certifies that the company has not violated U.S. laws for one year and is cooperating fully with U.S. investigations.
