Telefonica Deutschland, a top provider of broadband, landline and mobile te,lecommunications, on Thursday announced a partnership with Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. and Nokia Corporation to build its 5G mobile network in Germany.
Telefonica said work is slated to start at the beginning of 2020. It expects to have 5G up and running in Berlin,, Hamburg, Munich, Cologne and Frankfurt by the end of 2021. Telefonica said it wants to move faster in bringing 5G networks to Germany. The German government is working to finalize rules governing network suppliers.
The company, which operates under the O2 brand, said Nokia and Huawei will build O2's 5G radio network in Germany equally between them. It's one of only a few European operators that have Huawei as a 5G supplier. The company described both Nokia and Huawei as "proven strategic partners" in 5G infrastructure.
On the other hand, Telefonica said its cooperation with Huawei and Nokia in their 5G buildout depends on the technology and companies passing a security certification according to German law.
Telefonica chose Huawei and Nokia to build its Radio Access Network or RAN. This is the pa art of the 5G network that connects mobile phones and other devices to the actual 5G signal. RAN is different from the "core" infrastructure, which is somewhat like the brain of a 5G network. RAN is often seen as less sensitive than the core in terms of security. Telefonica said it hasn't chosen which company will build its 5G core.
In October, the government of chancellor Angela Merkel decided it wouldn't exclude Huawei from its 5G networks as demanded by the Trump administration. Instead, it introduced a draft proposal for security guidelines for 5G equipment. This draft might make it mandatory for equipment from vendors to be certified by the government.
In November, Telefonica chairman Markus Haas said Germany still lags behind the world in 5G technology. He noted there were many "fact-free discussions" over the use of Huawei technology, an apparent reference to the Trump administration's global push to ban the use of Huawei 5G networks in other countries.
German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier previously told Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei "the safety of telecommunications in Germany, the protection of citizens' data and the certainty of German law being adhered to," are key elements for permitting Huawei to build German networks.
