The German government was tipped to tighten restrictions on equipment vendors supplying its mobile networks, but to stop short on following global counterparts in issuing a formal ban on Huawei.

Reuters reported government sources said the nation planned to scrutinise vendors’ 5G RAN and core equipment. The news outlet added authorities had developed a formula for dealing with so-called high risk vendors, after two years of wrangling.

The mooted restrictions will now be drafted into legal text, which is expected to be reviewed in November.

Notably, Germany has not yet caved into US pressure to ban Huawei, unlike Australia and more recently the UK, which have restricted the Chinese vendor’s involvement in their 5G networks due to security concerns.

Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone Germany and Telefonica Deutschland are major customers for Huawei and a ban would represent a big blow to the company’s foothold in the country, and indeed the continent.

A source, however, told Reuters that while a ban will not be formally issued, the German government will effectively strangle Huawei in red tape and “the final outcome is the same”.

Deutsche Telekom indicated in July it had already significantly cut down its business with Huawei since 2017, as it struck a deal with Ericsson to deploy its 5G RAN and spectrum sharing solutions.