The French government is not planning to exclude Chinese vendor Huawei from its 5G networks, Reuters reported, citing a high-ranking official.
“We do not target one equipment maker,” Secretary of State to the Minister of Economy and Finance, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, told a French TV channel. “There is no exclusion,” she added.
“There are three equipment makers active in France. Huawei has a 25% market share, there is also Nokia and Ericsson. Samsung is not active yet in France but is interested in 5G,” said Pannier-Runacher.
“The government will not exclude anyone. We are not following the position of the United States,” she added. “We will proceed on a case by case basis.”
French telecoms operators will have to seek permission from the prime minister for their 5G network projects, and receive clearance based on national security considerations, according to the report.
In related news, a group of over 80 officials of the German Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party presented a motion at the party’s annual convention against Huawei’s participation in building 5G networks, according to international press reports.
“Only those suppliers can be trustworthy that are not under the influence of undemocratic states without a functioning rule of law,” reads the text approved during the party convention.
“Big companies in China have by law to serve the interest of the Communist party in China and cooperate with Chinese intelligence,” said Norbert Roettgen, head of the parliamentary committee on foreign relations.
Chancellor Angela Merkel, of ruling party CDU, is in favor of allowing Huawei to supply components for Germany’s 5G networks, according to previous reports. Merkel had recently signaled she wouldn’t consider the CDU motion as binding.
The German government recently finalized rules for the deployment of 5G mobile networks in the country, which would not exclude Huawei Technologies. Government officials have confirmed, however, that the country’s “security catalogue” will involve evaluation of technical and additional criteria. However, no single vendor would be barred.
“We are not taking a pre-emptive decision to ban any actor, or any company,” German government spokesman Steffen Seibert said during a news conference in Berlin on Monday.
The Trump administration has been urging its allies to ban Huawei from participating in 5G deployments, saying its telecom equipment contains “back doors” that would enable China to spy on other countries. The Federal Communications Commission has cited these concerns in a recent move to ban the use of Universal Service Fund monies from being used to purchase equipment or services from companies which are considered security risks, initially designating ZTE and Huawei as such companies.
German operators have have warned that banning the Chinese company would significantly delay 5G deployments in the country.
Officials said Germany’s security catalogue will be published shortly. Under these regulations, local mobile operators Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone and Telefonica Deutschland would be required to identify and apply enhanced security standards to critical network elements, according to local newspaper Handelsblatt daily reported earlier, citing the draft rulebook.
Telcos must obtain certification of critical equipment from Germany’s cybersecurity authority, the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI).
