“Telefónica Germany has clearly taken care not to pre-empt the ongoing political process of defining these security guidelines and at the same time not to delay the start of the 5G rollout,” Klaus Schulze-Löwenberg, a spokesman for the carrier, said.

The company said Nokia and Huawei would be “equally responsible” for supplying equipment for 5G antenna technology, with the selection of vendors for the more-sensitive core network coming sometime next year.

Telefónica’s decision marks the first public commitment to use Huawei equipment for 5G by one of Germany’s three main wireless operators, which also include domestic leader Deutsche Telekom AG and Vodafone Group PLC.

It comes amid political debate in Germany over whether to allow Huawei to supply equipment for mobile networks or bar it, as the U.S. has, over concerns that the gear could be exploited for espionage by China.

The German government recently decided against explicitly barring Huawei, but lawmakers from the ruling coalition have threatened to push an amendment of the nation’s telecommunications security laws that would effectively exclude the Chinese vendor. A parliamentary vote on updated security regulations could come soon.

At the annual convention of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union last month, members adopted a nonbinding motion to exclude 5G bids by foreign equipment makers that could be subject to influence from their governments.

Deutsche Telekom says it will wait for the dust to settle before signing any new equipment deals. “In view of the unclear political situation, we are not currently entering into any 5G contracts with any manufacturer. We informed the manufacturers about this last week,” the company said. “We hope, however, that we will get political clarity for the 5G expansion in Germany as soon as possible, so as not to fall behind.”

The U.S. says Huawei is under the sway of the Chinese government, but the company has said it would be willing to sign a no-spy agreement and welcomes regulatory scrutiny. In Germany, it is already a major supplier to all three network operators in their existing infrastructure, and a Huawei spokesman said this week that efforts to build out the country’s 4G network are continuing.

Operators in Germany have lobbied against banning Huawei, saying such a measure would boost the cost of building the 5G network and delay its deployment.

Write to Sara Germano at [email protected]