FMT:
Germany weighs curbs on Huawei, sparking telco backlash
Angry operators have warned of likely disruption and legal action against the plan.
Huawei currently accounts for 59% of Germany’s 5G RAN networks. (AP pic)
BERLIN: Germany’s interior ministry is planning to force telecoms operators to slash their use of equipment from China’s Huawei and ZTE, a government official said, prompting an angry response from operators who warned of likely disruption and legal action.
The ministry wants to impose the changes to 5G networks after a review highlighted Germany’s reliance on the two Chinese suppliers, as Berlin reassesses its relationship with a country it dubs both a partner and a systemic rival.
The ministry has designed a staggered approach to try to avoid too much disruption as operators remove all critical components from Chinese vendors in their 5G core networks by 2026, the official said.
The operators should also reduce the share of Chinese components in their RAN and transport networks by Oct 1, 2026, to a maximum of 25%, said the official, who declined to be named.
Operators swiftly criticised the proposals, while Huawei Germany rejected what it called the “politicisation” of cyber security in the country.
“Such an approach will have a negative impact on the digital transformation in Germany, inhibit innovation and significantly increase construction and operating costs for network operators,” it said in a statement.
“As a result, German consumers will have to pay the additional costs.”
Deutsche Telekom called the 2026 deadline unrealistic, comparing it to Britain’s drawn-out attempts to impose restrictions on Huawei, and warned of a possible drop in the quality of service to customers.
Telefonica Deutschland said it would consider seeking damages from the German government as well as legal action.
Criticism and resistance
Huawei currently accounts for 59% of Germany’s 5G RAN networks, according to a survey by telecommunications consultancy Strand Consult.
In especially sensitive regions like the capital Berlin, home of the federal government, Chinese tech should not be used at all, the official said – a distinction that Stand Consult said was “arbitrary”.
“It is not logical that only citizens and enterprises in major cities are prioritized for secure networks while the 79 million citizens in the rest of Germany are considered to live in safe or lower risk zones,” the firm said.
The interior ministry wants to present its approach to cabinet from next week but could face resistance from the ministry for digital affairs due to concerns it might affect Germany’s already slow progress with digitalization.
A spokesman for the digital ministry said no decision had been made yet, adding it was important to ensure that access to mobile internet remained stable, quick and affordable.
Germany is considered a laggard in implementing the European Union’s toolbox of security measures for 5G networks.
The measures were agreed three years ago to curb the use of vendors the bloc considers “high risk” – including Huawei and ZTE – due to concerns about possible sabotage or espionage.
The two companies deny their equipment poses a security risk.
Last week, the government said in response to a parliamentary enquiry that it had so far not forbidden the use of any new Chinese critical components in 5G networks.
“It is incomprehensible that (interior minister Nancy) Faeser allows Huawei components to still be used in our mobile networks,” said Reinhard Brandl, spokesman for digital policy for the parliamentary grouping of the opposition conservatives.
The interior ministry and Chinese embassy did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
Germany’s use of Huawei in particular has come under public scrutiny over the past two years given the government’s tougher stance on China and quest to reduce its dependence on individual countries in light of the energy crisis prompted by German reliance on Russian gas.
The interior ministry has come to the conclusion that there is an “urgent need” to act to avoid a second Nord Stream, the official said, referring to pipelines meant to bring cheap Russian gas to Germany but which are no longer in use.
BERLIN: Germany’s interior ministry is planning to force telecoms operators to slash their use of equipment from China’s Huawei and ZTE, a government official said, prompting an angry response from operators who warned of likely disruption and legal action.
The ministry wants to impose the changes to 5G networks after a review highlighted Germany’s reliance on the two Chinese suppliers, as Berlin reassesses its relationship with a country it dubs both a partner and a systemic rival.
The ministry has designed a staggered approach to try to avoid too much disruption as operators remove all critical components from Chinese vendors in their 5G core networks by 2026, the official said.
The operators should also reduce the share of Chinese components in their RAN and transport networks by Oct 1, 2026, to a maximum of 25%, said the official, who declined to be named.
Operators swiftly criticised the proposals, while Huawei Germany rejected what it called the “politicisation” of cyber security in the country.
“Such an approach will have a negative impact on the digital transformation in Germany, inhibit innovation and significantly increase construction and operating costs for network operators,” it said in a statement.
“As a result, German consumers will have to pay the additional costs.”
Deutsche Telekom called the 2026 deadline unrealistic, comparing it to Britain’s drawn-out attempts to impose restrictions on Huawei, and warned of a possible drop in the quality of service to customers.
Telefonica Deutschland said it would consider seeking damages from the German government as well as legal action.
Criticism and resistance
Huawei currently accounts for 59% of Germany’s 5G RAN networks, according to a survey by telecommunications consultancy Strand Consult.
In especially sensitive regions like the capital Berlin, home of the federal government, Chinese tech should not be used at all, the official said – a distinction that Stand Consult said was “arbitrary”.
“It is not logical that only citizens and enterprises in major cities are prioritized for secure networks while the 79 million citizens in the rest of Germany are considered to live in safe or lower risk zones,” the firm said.
The interior ministry wants to present its approach to cabinet from next week but could face resistance from the ministry for digital affairs due to concerns it might affect Germany’s already slow progress with digitalization.
A spokesman for the digital ministry said no decision had been made yet, adding it was important to ensure that access to mobile internet remained stable, quick and affordable.
Germany is considered a laggard in implementing the European Union’s toolbox of security measures for 5G networks.
The measures were agreed three years ago to curb the use of vendors the bloc considers “high risk” – including Huawei and ZTE – due to concerns about possible sabotage or espionage.
The two companies deny their equipment poses a security risk.
Last week, the government said in response to a parliamentary enquiry that it had so far not forbidden the use of any new Chinese critical components in 5G networks.
“It is incomprehensible that (interior minister Nancy) Faeser allows Huawei components to still be used in our mobile networks,” said Reinhard Brandl, spokesman for digital policy for the parliamentary grouping of the opposition conservatives.
The interior ministry and Chinese embassy did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
Germany’s use of Huawei in particular has come under public scrutiny over the past two years given the government’s tougher stance on China and quest to reduce its dependence on individual countries in light of the energy crisis prompted by German reliance on Russian gas.
The interior ministry has come to the conclusion that there is an “urgent need” to act to avoid a second Nord Stream, the official said, referring to pipelines meant to bring cheap Russian gas to Germany but which are no longer in use.
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kt comments:
Dei Germany, read following to see who has been your real enemy, what we Malaysians call 'musuh dalam selimut':
U.S. spied on Merkel and other Europeans through Danish cables - broadcaster DR
Reuters
June 1, 20212:58 AM GMT+10
Updated 2 years ago
COPENHAGEN, May 30 (Reuters) - The U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) used a partnership with Denmark's foreign intelligence unit to spy on senior officials of neighbouring countries, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Danish state broadcaster DR said.
The findings are the result of a 2015 internal investigation in the Danish Defence Intelligence Service into NSA's role in the partnership, DR said, citing nine unnamed sources with access to the investigation.
According to the investigation, which covered the period from 2012 to 2014, the NSA used Danish information cables to spy on senior officials in Sweden, Norway, France and Germany, including former German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and former German opposition leader Peer Steinbrück.
Asked for comment on the DR report, a spokesperson for the German chancellery said it only became aware of the allegations when asked about them by journalists, and declined to comment further.
Danish Defence Minister Trine Bramsen declined to comment on "speculation" about intelligence matters in the media.
"I can more generally say that this government has the same attitude as the former Prime Minister expressed in 2013 and 2014 - systematic wiretapping of close allies is unacceptable," Bramsen told Reuters in a statement.
In Washington, the NSA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) declined to comment. A spokesperson for the Danish Defence Intelligence Service also declined to comment.
Denmark, a close ally of the United States, hosts several key landing stations for subsea internet cables to and from Sweden, Norway, Germany, Holland and Britain.
Through targeted retrievals and the use of NSA-developed analysis software known as Xkeyscore, NSA intercepted both calls, texts and chat messages to and from telephones of officials in the neighbouring countries, sources told DR.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod elbow bump at the end of a joint news conference following meetings at the Danish Foreign Ministry in Copenhagen, Denmark, May 17, 2021. Saul Loeb/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights
The internal investigation in the Danish Defence Intelligence Service was launched in 2014 following concerns about former NSA employee Edward Snowden's leaks the previous year revealing how the NSA works, according to DR.
Snowden fled the United States after leaking secret NSA files in 2013 and was given asylum in Russia.
Following DR's report, Snowden posted a cryptic Danish-language comment on Twitter saying: "If only there had been some reason to investigate many years ago. Oh why didn't anyone warn us?"
Steinbrück told German broadcaster ARD he thought it was "grotesque that friendly intelligence services are indeed intercepting and spying on top representatives" of other countries.
"Politically I consider it a scandal," he said.
Swedish Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist told Swedish SVT broadcaster that he "demanded full information".Norwegian Defence Minister Frank Bakke-Jensen told broadcaster NRK that he took the allegations seriously.
In Paris, French Minister for European Affairs Clement Beaune told France Info radio that the DR report needed to be checked and that, if confirmed, it would be a "serious" matter.
"These potential facts, they are serious, they must be checked," he said, adding there could be "some diplomatic protests".
A decision in August last year to suspend the head of the Danish Defence Intelligence Service and three other officials following criticism and accusations of serious wrongdoings from an independent board overseeing the agencycentred on the 2015 investigation, according to DR.
Denmark said last year it would initiate an investigation into the case based on information from a whistleblower report. That investigation is expected to be concluded later this year.
2012 is STALE NEWS.
ReplyDeleteThat was then , this is now.
At the time 2012 many in Germany considered USA a bigger threat than Russia or China.
11 years us a long time in politics and geopolitics. And most Europeans have woken up to the threat unfettered trading with Russia or China on technology and energy posses.
Wakakaka…
DeleteKnow-nothing fart of inconsequential AGAIN!
If u care to ask WHO have woken up to the threat unfettered trading with Russia or China on technology and energy posses vis-a-vis the ever commanding uncle Sam in Europe.
The declining populist governments that they elected have been given hand down signs for working so closely & at the commands of the Yank. The sopo-economic woes of current Europe r that consequences.
Ooop… check the rising popularity of the Alternative for Germany (German: Alternative für Deutschland, AfD for a start.