The author is Director of the Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi), an independent think tank in Berlin.

The new Zealanders do not want more Huawei, The Chinese network equipment supplier is excluded from the structure of the fast 5G mobile communications. There were “significant risks to national security,” it said last week officially. The new Zealanders are following the Australians and the US government. In the United States, the judiciary also identified due to a violation of the Iran embargo, against the company, which is why now in Canada, the Huawei chief financial officer and daughter of company founder, was arrested. Quite different in Germany: safety has played in the debate around 5G so far, no role, instead, is a passion discussed the network coverage.

In October, the Federal government notified that there is no legal basis, the provider from the 5G-structure in Germany. And in the last week invitation to tender published by the Federal network Agency for the sale by auction of the 5G frequencies cited security as a fundamental requirement for the award of the contract. However, this is fatal, because the fast mobile network, not only the telecommunications, but our future industry and mobility.

It is, therefore, not alone to the much-discussed privacy, but also to the integrity of the data and systems that form the backbone of our economy and society. Critical critical infrastructure.

European Alternatives

contrary to what Huawei claims it’s not about the USA, Australia and new Zealand to the exclusion of Chinese suppliers to crude protectionism, because in none of the three countries, local suppliers are the main beneficiaries. The peculiarity of the market for 5G is that there is no US provider, covering the full technological spectrum. The Alternatives to Huawei and ZTE, the second-large supplier of network technology from China, are two European companies: Nokia and Ericsson.

Huawei has in Germany, also thanks to the professional lobbyists, strong supporters. It sells as a private company, a cooperative established and in no way under the control of the Chinese party-state. Network operators such as Telekom are among the satisfied customers Huawei, which already provides significant parts of the existing German 3G and 4G infrastructure. Telekom warns that they could afford in view of the timely expansion of demand difficult, “powerful suppliers” such as Huawei, to exclude.

price advantage due to unfair conditions

From the point of view of Telekom and other network operators, the situation is clear: Huawei is offering the modern products at low prices and is very cooperative. The Telekom is from its own perspective is rational, moreover, they bear no risk of liability for safety risks associated with Huawei technology. That the price advantage of Huawei is based on unfair conditions in the Chinese home market, do not need scissors, Telekom and other Huawei customers. In China, by far the largest market in the world, are well reserved 75 percent of the mobile market for local technology providers. This competitive advantage can not obtain a Chinese suppliers on price.

belongs To the defenders of Huawei, the head of the Federal office for information security (BSI) is calculated. Arne Schönbohm believes in a “preventive approach” of risk management, the authority to check whether the network supplier to meet the requirements of the IT security. This will allow the BSI, the “required trust statements are technically walls”. Schönbohm seems to be Huawei’s self-description, “to believe is the most reviewed company in the world”.

The Chinese offer to have their equipment in test centres test, the last of which was opened in Bonn. This laboratory allows for a “broader and deeper technical exchange between Huawei and the BSI” was Schönbohm thrilled. Huawei chief Kevin Hu agreed in beautiful words: “Huawei and BSI share the same Vision: to make the completely networked world of the future as safe as possible.”