Germany is considering banning certain components from Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE in its telecoms networks, a government source said, in a potentially significant move to address security concerns, Trend reports citing Reuters.
An interior ministry spokesperson on Tuesday confirmed that the German government was carrying out a general review of telecoms tech suppliers, but said that this was not directed at specific manufacturers.
The German government, which is in the midst of a broader re-evaluation of its relationship with top trade partner China, has been wary of expressly singling out Huawei, even while pursuing legislation enabling it to crack down on the firm.
An interior ministry paper on the review obtained by Reuters said that a specific supplier could be banned from providing critical components if it were deemed to be directly or indirectly controlled by the government of another state.
"We cannot be reliant on components of individual suppliers," Finance Minister Christian Lindner told Welt TV.
The review could lead to Germany asking operators to remove and replace components already built into networks, the interior ministry spokesperson said, adding that current legislation did not foresee compensation for them.