German regulator says Huawei can stay in 5G race

BERLIN (Financial Times) – Germany's telecommunications regulator has made it clear that equipment manufacturer Huawei would not be ruled out of the country's high-speed 5G network despite fierce US pressure to exclude controversial Chinese supplier for security reasons.

Jochen Homann, chairman of the Bundesnetzagentur, or federal agency of the network, told the Financial Times in an interview: "The Bundesnetzagentur's position is that no equipment supplier, including Huawei, should or can be specifically excluded. "

Washington has repeatedly called on European governments to ban Huawei's infrastructure to their 5G networks, claiming that Beijing could use the Chinese group's technology to conduct espionage or cyber-sabotage activities. Last month, the US ambbadador to Berlin warned the German government in a letter that Washington would consider cutting intelligence cooperation if Huawei were to play a role in the deployment of 5G.

The Chinese group has denied US allegations that its technology poses a security risk, but some US allies – including Australia and New Zealand – have decided to follow Washington's guidelines and to ban Huawei from not use parts of their telecommunication infrastructure.

Mr Homann, however, said that his agency had not yet gathered evidence to support these concerns: "The Bundesnetzagentur has not received any concrete indications against Huawei. We do not know of any other organism in Germany that has received reliable information. "

The Bundesnetzagentur launched its long-awaited 5G spectrum auction last month. The auction continued on Friday after more than three weeks and 180 shots. The four operators competing for 5G network operating licenses – Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone, Telefónica and Drillisch – have so far submitted tenders with a total value greater than 5.2 billion euros. Once the auction is over, companies can start building the infrastructure required for the fifth-generation network, with Huawei playing a key role.

Mr Homann pointed out that Huawei's ban in the process would cause problems for Deutsche Telekom and its competitors: "Operators all work with Huawei technology in their systems. In addition, Huawei holds a large number of patents in this area. If Huawei were excluded from the market, it would delay the deployment of digital networks, "he said.

In an attempt to address the concerns of the United States and other countries, last month Homann's agency released a draft new security directive. The new regulation, which is still the subject of consultations with industry and other branches of government, indicates that the equipment can only be purchased by reliable suppliers who respect without equivocates the national security rules as well as the provisions relating to the secrecy of telecommunications ".

Mr. Homann said, "If Huawei meets all the requirements, it can participate in the deployment of the 5G network." He stressed that operators should "be very careful when selecting system vendors" and that "safety-related components can only be components". used if they were subjected to computer security checks by an approved test organization and certified by the Federal Office of Information Security, the BSI ".

But Mr Homann insisted that "the Bundesnetzagentur will not be subject to any requirement for a particular company".