Germany has launched a review of its 5G high-speed mobile telecommunications networks as part of a broader review of its relationship with China.
The move suggests that the German government may be moving closer to banning Chinese suppliers like Huawei from German networks.
- The German government had for years resisted U.S. calls for its EU partners to ban the use of equipment made by Huawei and Chinese state-owned ZTE Corp. in their critical infrastructure.
- The U.S. warned that using Chinese components in ally 5G networks made them vulnerable and could compromise intelligence sharing between Washington and Berlin.
- The German Interior Ministry said the probe could lead to operators having to remove unsafe equipment from their networks.
- The review plans to focus on existing components in the nation’s telecommunications networks that may pose a risk to national security.
