German security rulebook to keep 5G door open to Huawei

A new German security rulebook will not exclude Chinese telecoms equipment maker Huawei Technologies from supplying gear for the country’s 5G mobile networks, Reuters reports, ciitng a senior government source.

The "security catalogue", due to be published this week, will confirm Germany’s decision to keep a level playing field for suppliers to next-generation telecoms networks, despite calls by the United States to ban Huawei.

Operators had warned that banning Huawei could add years of delays and billions of dollars in costs to rolling out 5G networks in Germany that could power super-fast home broadband, connected factories or, one day, self-driving cars.

“Germany’s approach did not and does not foresee any clause that would exclude any one company,” a senior government official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The federal network regulator and cybersecurity watchdog have been working to finalize the rulebook after setting basic criteria in March on technical standards and governance at suppliers.