Germany has completed its ‘security catalog,’ a set of rules telecommunications companies must comply with as they deploy 5G networks. Reuters is reporting that, despite pressure from the U.S., German officials have not excluded Huawei from participation.
The U.S. and Huawei have been at odds over allegations the equipment vendor has backdoors in its 5G equipment—backdoors that enable China to spy on other countries. Huawei has vehemently denied the allegations, but that hasn’t stopped the U.S. from taking action to implement bans, export controls and tech sharing restrictions. This has impacted all aspects of the company’s business, even resulting in it losing full access to Google’s Android. The U.S. has also put pressure on European allies to limit Huawei’s ability to do business in the EU.
In what some are seeing as a snub of U.S. interests, Germany declined to single out any vendor, including Huawei. This is likely due to warnings from German operators who have said banning Huawei could cost billions and add years to a successful 5G rollout.
“We are not taking a pre-emptive decision to ban any actor, or any company,” German government spokesman Steffen Seibert told a news conference in Berlin on Monday.