Choosing european networking hardware: transparency, trust, and technical fit

When we choose hardware for our networking solutions, we prioritize performance, reliability, and security but also where the technology comes from and what it stands for. That’s why we proudly use networking equipment from European vendors like MikroTik, AVM (Fritz!Box), and Sophos for customer connectivity.

These vendors serve different needs: AVM provides excellent options for small businesses and residential setups, Sophos delivers advanced network security appliances, and MikroTik offers powerful routing solutions even for enterprise environments. All three share something important: they develop their software in Europe and operate under European data protection principles. While AVM and MikroTik are based in the EU, Sophos, though headquartered in the UK, continues to provide regular security updates and follows strict privacy standards aligned with EU expectations.

We want to be fully transparent: No, these devices are not 100% manufactured in Europe. In today’s globalized supply chain, that’s practically impossible. Chips and components come from all over the world, including Asia and the US.

What matters to us, and to our customers, is that these vendors design and maintain their software within Europe. They provide frequent and timely security updates, operate under strict EU data protection laws, and maintain a clear commitment to user privacy. This isn’t a marketing checkbox, it’s foundational to how these vendors build and maintain trust.

In our core network infrastructure, which serves as the backbone for uptime, routing resilience, and high throughput interconnectivity, we follow a diversified approach. Here, we deploy equipment from Cisco, Huawei, Dell, BDCOM, and MikroTik, among others. This includes both US and Chinese manufacturers.

Managing a high-performance backbone is complex. It requires scale, stability, compatibility with global standards, and strong vendor support. Unfortunately, EU alternatives in this category are limited or immature in some segments. That’s why we adopt a multi-vendor strategy, minimizing risk and dependency while ensuring that each layer of our infrastructure is optimized for its role.

We constantly assess vendor performance, update cycles, feature sets, and compatibility, avoiding lock-in and maintaining operational agility.

We are vendor agnostic, choosing the right tool for each job. But when it comes to customer-facing connectivity, the routers, firewalls, and network edge devices, we follow a clear principle: Use European vendors whenever possible.

This principle is not only achievable in this domain, it's also aligned with our long-term vision of digital sovereignty, transparent governance, and trusted communication systems.