Deutsche Telekom diversifies suppliers 'regardless of politics'

BERLIN (Reuters) - Deutsche Telekom said on Thursday it was diversifying its suppliers of equipment to build its 5G networks as debate continues in Berlin over whether to bar China's Huawei Technologies from the German market.

CEO Tim Hoettges made the comments as officials finish crafting legislation on rules to assess vendors' fitness to equip German networks, which would be subject to a government review whose terms have yet to be agreed.

Hoettges said policy-makers had made a conscious decision not to impose up-front bans on vendors for political reasons. Even so, the Bonn-based group was broadening the supplier base serving its European operations.

"Regardless of politics, we should never allow dependence on one provider," Hoettges told reporters on a conference call after Deutsche Telekom published strong second-quarter results.

Huawei is the main supplier of radio access equipment for Deutsche Telekom's new 5G network in Germany - a relationship that has been criticised by some lawmakers who view the Chinese firm as a national security risk. Huawei says its gear is safe.

But, in the European countries where it does business, Deutsche Telekom says its supplier base is broader. It relies on U.S. suppliers for 30% of its European networks, with European and Chinese suppliers accounting for another quarter each.

Hoettges also called for the use of open, cloud-based technology for networks - known as OpenRAN - to be anchored in German legislation as this would be important for Deutsche Telekom's future network development.

(Reporting by Douglas Busvine; editing by Thomas Escritt and Barbara Lewis)