Germany wants to expand its mobile network for the 5G Standard. But the question is: Who should build the network? Maybe the Chinese Huawei group? How safe would that be and is there any Alternatives?
A lot of Germans use a Smartphone of Huawei and thinking probably nothing. However, in the case of the many less-than-flattering messages for the last few weeks is some to Ponder: such As the mysterious group from the middle Kingdom is now, exactly? What is the corruption and spying allegations? How is the independence of the group from the state and the secret service?
It’s one thing if a totalitarian state-and-white at the other end of the world, what zusäuseln love great Teens each other via Whatsapp. But something quite different, it is when a supplier can be a whole network, in this case, the now also in Germany-to-install 5G mobile and wireless communications network, to control or even manipulate.
And besides, it is also a great deal of money: The expansion of the grid for the 5G Standard is also for the powerful German economy is a colossal Undertaking. Torsten Gerpott, Professor of telecommunications Economics at the University of Duisburg-Essen, points out that you can’t say the final cost yet reputable advance. But he estimates the volume of investments “in the next 20 years, to 30 to 80 billion euros”.
The surface coverage of Germany with the 5G mobile communications standard is a technical and financial challenge.
Growing resistance in the world
The suspect, a close contact to the network supplier would be the equivalent of a close contact with Chinese intelligence services, is not in a group that is so opaque, such as Huawei, to in of the Hand. In other countries, is well aware of this and has partially traded in: Australia and new Zealand have excluded Huawei from 5G-grid expansion in their countries. In Norway and Poland, this is also considered.
On Wednesday, US media reported, against the Chinese corporate criminal ran investigations on suspicion of spying. Of this case, to not want to the Huawei first Express, will be held by the company in the network equipment is de facto already out of the market.
Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou has been taken in Canada, but is currently on bail.
In Canada, the relationship with Huawei has already adopted a bizarre and clearly tragic dimensions Because of the suspicion of U.S. authorities, the Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou had violated the Iran-Boycott of the US government, it was taken in Canada.
After the arrest of the Manager, who is the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, were arrested, apparently in retaliation, two Canadians in China. In addition, a few days ago, the sentence is already in China imprisoned canadian was converted into a death penalty – the risk of execution now.
Espionage? But we’re not! Honest!
CEO Ren Zhengfei expresses in front of the press only very rarely. Given the massive allegations against his company, he has abandoned his restraint, however. In the American representatives of the press, he vowed to never be of a government have been called upon “to send illegal information.” And more: “I love my country, I support the Communist party, but I will never do anything to hurt any country in the world.”
So far, the German economy Minister Peter Altmeier has no hesitation to involve Huawei in the Development of a 5G network in Germany. The Federal office for information security (BSI) also has no specific objections to the involvement of Huawei and rejects a Boycott of the group. By the chief of the German industry Association, Dieter Kempf, came to exclude the note, it may Huawei not because of an as-yet unsubstantiated suspicion of 5G Development. Kempf literally: “If there is someone who makes such assumptions, then he has to prove the damn duty of this conjecture.”
The economist Torsten Gerpott calls for restraint. The accusations levied against the Chinese group, were not yet proven: “at The moment, something of a prejudgement by Huawei. There is no hard evidence that law have been violations.”
Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei does not occur like in public. However, at present, nothing remains of him no other choice.
Alternatives already exist – in Europe
In addition, it is not identified for a long time, that the 5G network expansion in Germany, the Chinese in the race. Regarded as the favorite, because they are the biggest competitors, and how to go watching it, Torsten Gerpott, “price aggressive in the market”.
The Economist Ulrich home Hoff, a Professor of Economics at the Heinrich-Heine-University in Düsseldorf, looks to Huawei for the same reason, in the favorites role, “the tender, it usually goes first to the prize”.
However, three competitors views are on the whole rich in the race: in addition to Huawei still Ericsson and Nokia. Of these Three, so Torsten Gerpott, “to share 80 to 85 percent of the 5G market, the network supplier among themselves”.
Although Nokia has announced this week to more than 500 of its 3,500 employees in Germany, dismissed. It was, however, says Gerpott, to interpret it not as a sign of surrender. On the contrary: “Ericsson and Nokia are well on the way.”
The price is not everything
In order formulation of the network operator, the Federal Republic has, in a variety of ways to commit the supplier to a behavior, economic espionage and other Spying-excludes actions, or at least very difficult. “The primary will include for the first time to the tasks of the BSI,” says competition expert home Hoff. “And there has been authorities chief optimistic that the house could do that.”
This looks Torsten Gerpott: “The BSI must adopt security standards that ensure that a network operator can not be unnoticed betrayed.” “The BSI is not infallible. But the development of such guidelines is a dynamic process and the authority must continue and prevail in order to minimize spying potential.”