Hamburg, Berlin, Brussels The debate about the Chinese technology group Huawei has been occupying German politics for three years now. In addition to smart smartphones and laptops, the company also manufactures components for mobile communications networks. And that’s what the discussions are about.
Critics see Huawei as a Trojan horse of the Chinese regime, warnings are also coming from the secret services: Mobile communications are considered a critical infrastructure and will play an even more important role for the economy and society with the introduction of the particularly fast 5G technology. Nevertheless, German network operators such as Vodafone and Deutsche Telekom are sticking with Huawei. An overview of the most important questions and answers.
5G is currently the most modern mobile communications standard. It is intended to gradually replace the existing 4G system, which is known in Germany by the abbreviation LTE. Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone, Telefónica and 1&1 have already started to expand. In 5G networks, not only the data transmission speeds increase – under ideal conditions – up to ten gigabits per second. The latency, i.e. reaction times, also drop to a few or even just a millisecond.
This is what makes real-time applications such as autonomously driving cars or trucks possible in the first place. Delays in data transmission, which are quite common with LTE, would be fatal with such offers.
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To reduce latency, the density of the network also increases; more antennas are therefore required. There is also the option of building a network of computers for cloud applications near the antennas to further increase performance.
A dense 5G network, thanks to its high bandwidth and reliability, could make landline connections obsolete and prepare the ground for modern industrial applications or so-called metaverses that large tech companies are currently working on. It is regarded as an essential infrastructure for the further digitization of the economy.
2. What is the difference between antenna network and core network?
In cities in particular, cell phone antennas are hard to miss these days: rectangular, mostly gray boxes that are being mounted on more and more house roofs. A mobile phone establishes a radio connection with them in order to transmit data or speech. These antennas and their immediate infrastructure form the so-called antenna access network of a mobile phone provider. From there, the data reaches the heart chamber of the network via fiber optic and radio link connections: the core.
In this core network, which is spread over several locations, the data is processed and linked to the mainframes of the respective provider and their Internet access. There are, for example, mailbox or switching servers. Because of its central importance, the core network is in particular need of protection; Attackers could do the most damage here.
However, it is not always clearly defined which parts actually belong to the antenna network and which to the core network. Many mobile network providers are currently still using their old 4G core network for 5G. In the medium term, both systems are to be decoupled in order to fully exploit the potential of 5G.
3. In which countries is Huawei already banned?
Australia and New Zealand made the start: As early as 2018, both countries decided to ban the supply of their 5G networks with Huawei technology. The US took up the issue. Under President Donald Trump, they urged their European allies to build 5G networks without Chinese components.
The campaign provoked much controversy but had an impact. In 2020, Great Britain excluded Huawei from network expansion. France issued rules that could mean that Huawei will only play a minor role in the future. Canada also opposed Chinese network technology.
The federal government discussed this for a long time, but passed a law last year that allows critical components to be banned. This applies, for example, if the use of the critical component conflicts with the “security policy goals of the Federal Republic of Germany, the EU or NATO” or the manufacturer “is directly or indirectly controlled by the government, including other government agencies or armed forces, of a third country”.
4. What alternatives are there to Huawei?
The main Huawei competitors come from Europe: the Finnish company Nokia and the Swedish group Ericsson. In the USA, it is primarily these two companies that supply components for the 5G networks.
In Germany, Ericsson in particular has benefited from the criticism of Huawei. Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone and Telefónica rely on the components of the Swedes in their 5G core networks. Telekom also works with the US provider Mavenir.
1&1, which is building a particularly modern, so-called open ran network, has joined forces with Rakuten from Japan. 1&1 founder Ralph Dommermuth likes to emphasize that he is building a network without Chinese technology, which earned him goodwill for his plans in Berlin, for example.
With an Open-Ran network, mobile network operators are less dependent than before on individual manufacturers. More tasks than before are handled by software instead of hardware. This increases performance and flexibility. However, Open Ran is not without controversy.
Critics point out that Chinese companies are involved in the Open-Ran Alliance, which wants to promote the new technology standard – including those that are on the US sanctions lists.
5. What is Huawei’s relationship with the Chinese state?
Huawei says about itself that it is a private company and owned by its employees. However, the IT group has a special relationship with the Chinese government and the Communist Party. Founder Ren Zhengfei served in China’s People’s Liberation Army for nine years. Again and again, representatives of the Chinese government have called for the company to be involved in the 5G expansion abroad, sometimes with explicit threats – for example against Germany.
The new technology makes data transfer much faster.
(Photo: dpa)
In addition, according to calculations by the “Wall Street Journal”, Huawei is said to have received around 75 billion in financial support from the Chinese state. Huawei denies that it gets special government treatment.
In addition, all companies in China are subject to the National Intelligence Law, which stipulates that every organization must cooperate with the national intelligence services. Unlike in Germany or the USA, for example, companies in China cannot defend themselves against this obligation to cooperate in court. US companies have been accusing Huawei of industrial espionage for years, and at least one case has resulted in a conviction.
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