According to a German interior ministry paper obtained by Reuters, the country is considering a ban on certain 5G components made by Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE. German media further stated that this ban could include components already built into networks, which would require that operators remove and replace them, reportedly without compensation.
The ban has not yet been issued, but a spokesperson for the interior ministry confirmed to Reuters that as part of its broader review of its relationship with China, the German government is also reevaluating its telecom suppliers. “The main change is that these strict checks for potential security risks now also apply to the existing components in telecommunications networks,” said the spokesperson.
