Ericsson said the base system includes components for a cloud-native 5G core network, as well as radio standards covering both 5G and 4G functions
Swedish vendor Ericsson said it is supplying the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) with a full-scale 5G test network infrastructure for its 5G/6G Security Lab Test Environment for Mobile Infrastructure Security (TEMIS).
In a statement, Ericsson noted that the contract had been initially awarded in June 2022 and added that the first stage of construction recently went into operation. In the test lab, the BSI conducts security tests on components that are part of a 5G network. The aim of this initiative is to promote the security of German telecommunications networks.
Ericsson’s base system includes components for a cloud-native 5G core network, as well as radio standards covering both 5G and 4G functions. Additional services also include service support and life cycle management.
The German agency is concerned with the security of domestic telecommunications networks. The 5G Competence Center at the BSI’s Freital site is investigating in particular the security of 5G-based infrastructures and their further developments, the Swedish vendor said.
Ericsson also explained that since the 5G Competence Center at the Freital site is to deal with investigations into the security of 5G infrastructure components in Germany, the 5G components to be implemented in the test environment will primarily be those that reflect the current or planned 5G standalone infrastructure of the German commercial mobile network operators.
BSI’s president Claudia Plattner, said: “A central topic for the BSI is cyber security in mobile infrastructure. With the first construction stage of the 5G/6G Security Lab at the BSI in Freital, we have reached an important milestone.”
“We are not only a leading provider of network infrastructures in Germany, but also consider the topic of security to be extremely important. Therefore, it is a matter of course for us to support the BSI in its tasks with the appropriate 5G components. We hope that the tests in Dresden will help to strengthen the future 5G roll-out and that confidence in the technology will continue to grow,” said Daniel Leimbach, head of customer unit Western Europe at Ericsson.
According to previous reports, a German interior ministry paper stated that the country is considering a ban on certain 5G components made by Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE. German media further stated that this ban could include components already built into networks, which would require that operators remove and replace them, reportedly without compensation.
A spokesperson for the interior ministry had previously confirmed to Reuters that as part of its broader review of its relationship with China, the German government is also reevaluating its telecom suppliers. “The main change is that these strict checks for potential security risks now also apply to the existing components in telecommunications networks,” said the spokesperson.
The German government said that the potential high costs of removing components from Huawei from the country’s 5G networks will not be a barrier if it is in the best interests of national security.
