6G will be Chinese-kit free says the Chancellor of Europe’s biggest economy as Europe prepares to double down on sovereignty
After much procrastination, the German government is preparing to take decisive action regarding the use of Chinese technology in critical infrastructure – specifically Huawei and ZTE. The Bundestag (or lower house) of the German parliament approved legislation that will allow the Interior Ministry to ban the use of components from perceived high-risk manufacturers.
In the past, Germany and the operators, most notably the former incumbent Deutsche Telekom, have been slower than most of their counterparts in Europe in removing Chinese technology from certain segments of 5G networks, despite escalating geopolitical tensions, and growing concerns about espionage and cybersecurity.
The proposed German law will apply to other sectors beyond telecoms, including energy, transport and healthcare.
Last week the Bloomberg quoted the German Chancellor, Friedrich Merztelling at a conference in Berlin saying he would not permit any components from China in the 6G network. Merz will discuss the matter further at a digital sovereignty summit co-hosted by Germany and France which is taking place this week.
The German bill will implements the European Union’s NIS2 Directive which applies to cybersecurity and Europe’s critical infrastructure cybersecurity law, assuming it passes the German parliament’s upper house, the Bundesrat, later this week.
The Interior Ministry could have already obliged operators to cease using Chinese tech in certain parts of their networks under extant IT security law, but never formally invoked that law. However, German operators pushed back hard until last year, the the German government managed to secure agreement on a timetable for the reemoval of Chinese tech from 5G networks.
Mobile core networks must be free of systems supplied by either Huawei or ZTE by the end of 2026, while 5G RAN infrastructure must not contain any “critical” network management functionality by the end of 2029.
