Telefónica Deutschland (O2) has announced the 3G network by the end of 2021 to be switched off completely. To do this, the Group will have to convert some 18,000 sites to 4G and 5G. However, the IT security law 2.0 could slow down the modernisation of the infrastructure considerably.
"In our access network - that is, our antennas - we want to use half of the components of Huawei and we're going to build the other half with Nokia."
Markus Haas, head of Telefónica Germany to the newspaper Welt
The original Act to increase the security of information technology systems (IT Security Act) was already introduced in July 2015. An amendment to the law was to follow as part of the introduction of the new 5G mobile communications standard. To this end, the Federal Ministry of the Interior recently submitted a draft for the IT Security Act 2.0 to the final departmental vote.
Huawei exclusion unlikely in Germany
At present, despite pressure from the U.S.A., it is unlikely that Huawei will be expelled from Germany. However, the final decision will still be made by a committee of representatives of the ministries of the interior, economy and foreign affairs and the chancellor's office. If no consensual consensus can be reached, the decision will be passed on to the ministers.
If no decision is reached here either, the government's dispute settlement procedure will apply. To enforce a ban on Huawei hardware, it must be proven that the equipment has security risks. So far, the US government has not been able to provide any evidence for this claim.
Telefónica Deutschland needs planning security
The current situation is problematic for Telefónica Deutschland and other companies. Although a ban on Huawei is very unlikely, hardware orders still have a low residual risk.
"We definitely need planning certainty before we go live with 5G and hope to get it in the first quarter of 2021."
Haas
Telefónica estimates that a ban on Huawei will delay the expansion plans by a maximum of one year because the group's 5G expansion is still at an early stage.
Better network quality than Vodafone and Deutsche Telekom
The goal of Telefónica Deutschland's chief executive is to use the 5G rollout to bring Vodafone and Deutsche Telekom for the mobile Network quality to overtake. At CHIP network test 2020 Although Telefónica was able to improve its quality significantly and achieve the overall grade "good" (1.59), Telekom won the test for the eleventh time in a row. It is therefore unclear whether Telefónica will actually be able to achieve this ambitious goal.
"Our goal is of course to build the best network in Germany. It's within reach and absolutely feasible."
Haas
