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Germany launches Tuesday its auction for the construction of a super-fast 5G mobile network while a transatlantic conflict rages over security issues surrounding the Chinese giant's business. Huawei telecom equipment.
The United States warned that they could reduce the sharing of sensitive information with Berlin if they did not exclude Huawei's hardware from the infrastructure, claiming that Chinese equipment could help Beijing spy on Western companies and governments.
Jochen Homann, President of the German Federal Network Agency (BNA), said: "Whether the supplier comes from Sweden or China, companies must meet the requirements for certification and security checks."
"Fifth generation" – "5G – is the latest generation of high-speed cellular mobile communications and Berlin will ask the successful bidders to offer 5G service to at least 98% of German households, along motorways and railway lines .
Germany, the largest economy in Europe with wireless networks ranked 46th in the world for download speeds, wants to close the digital divide by switching to the ultra-fast 5G system.
The BNA launched Tuesday the auction in Mainz at 9am (GMT). The process will allocate 41 different frequency blocks. Four operators are in the running, including the three largest German mobile phone service providers – Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone and Telefonica Germany (O2) – as well as United Internet (1 & 1), a German Internet services company.
Huawei is not one of the bidders, but provides the four German companies with essential equipment such as antennas and routers.
The United States accused Beijing of using Huawei's 5G network as a Trojan horse, forcing operators to transmit data to the regime, but Washington has not provided evidence to support of their suspicions.
Huawei has vigorously denied allegations that its equipment could be used for espionage.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday criticized what he called "abnormal and immoral" attacks on Huawei and demanded a "fair and equitable competition environment" for Chinese companies.
Attempts by the United States to encourage other countries to ban Huawei's telecommunication equipment from undergoing telecommunications infrastructure suffered a setback when Chancellor Angela Merkel's government decided not to impose restrictions. specific to the company at the 5G auction.
United States fear compromise on security
According to media reports, the US ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, warned last week that Washington could review its intelligence cooperation unless Berlin accepts a ban on Huawei.
In a letter, Grenell told Peter Altmaier, German Minister for the Economy, that co-operation on information sharing could be reduced if Berlin allowed Chinese society to join the 5G network, the Wall Street newspaper reported.
The threat escalated last week when General Curtis Scaparrotti, Supreme Allied Commander Europe in Europe, warned Germany that NATO forces would reduce communications if Berlin worked with Huawei.
"We are concerned that their telecommunications network (in Germany) is being compromised in the sense that, particularly with 5G, the bandwidth and data extraction capacity are incredible," Scaparrotti told the Forces Committee. Wednesday.
"If this is also in the defense communications, we will not contact them. And for the military, it would be a problem.
Merkel tried to reassure senior officials in Washington by saying that Germany would consult the United States on the possible use of Huawei's technology, but that it would "set our standards for ourselves" .
However, the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND) shares some of the US fears.
BND security experts have asked the government to take into account China's overall strategy, including a law on forced security cooperation, according to a report in the paper. Der Spiegel magazine.
Other media claim that Berlin is in the process of developing a catalog of measures to change the telecommunications laws for all 5G providers.
These measures go from a non-spying clause to the obligation to test all the components and the requirement to publish the source code used in the infrastructure.
In some cases, the government could require that the equipment already installed be replaced, which could exclude Huawei from the infrastructure without pronouncing a formal ban on the Chinese company, according to the business daily "Business Daily ". Handelsblatt.
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