China exits German 5G network

Components from Chinese manufacturers such as Huawei and ZTE must disappear from Germany's ultra-fast 5G mobile network by 2029. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) said: It is about “the central nervous system of Germany as a business location”.

It has been a long struggle, but German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) confirmed on Thursday: Components from Chinese manufacturers such as Huawei and ZTE will disappear from German 5G mobile networks. From 2026, they will no longer be used in the core network, which forms a kind of backbone. After three years, the access and transport networks must be free of components from China. Chinese technology companies are seen as a security risk because they are legally obliged to cooperate with the Chinese regime.

“In this way we protect Germany’s central nervous system as a business location,” Faeser said in Berlin on Thursday. “We have to avoid unilateral dependencies. It has long been known that the German government is struggling to deal with China in the 5G network.” Now, the three German mobile operators Telekom, Vodafone and Telefónica are set to sign a contract in which they commit to expanding their 5G network largely without China. In return, they are being granted longer transition periods to exchange parts.

According to an analysis by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, this means they can replace components that would otherwise need maintenance or are already worn out. The longer periods would avoid “wandering dead spots” in the German 5G network, which can arise from hasty switchovers. In Great Britain, which has already banned Chinese components, the transition periods have been extended.

Austria has not seen any danger so far.