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German officials told members of the press that there is rising concern over Chinese involvement in 5G rollout across Europe
Top officials in Germany are considering plans to ban Chinese companies from taking part in the rollout of 5G, arguing that they could pose a risk to national security.
The push to convince Germany’s regulator to exclude Chinese firms, comes after the US and Australia both banned Huawei and ZTE from their 5G rollout programmes earlier this year.
“There is serious concern. If it were up to me we would do what the Australians are doing,” one senior German official told news agency Reuters.
Discussions are on-going and the door remains open for Chinese tech giants Huawei and ZTE in Germany.
In recent interviews with Total Telecom, both Huawei and ZTE have highlighted Western Europe as a key area for growth. Any ban in Germany would represent a serious obstacle to those plans.
Chinese network equipment is around 20-30 per cent cheaper than that produced by US and European tech firms. By excluding Huawei from its 5G rollout programme, Germany would be essentially pushing up prices for its operators, dramatically increasing the cost of rolling out 5G.
