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According to reports, BT has still not removed all Huawei equipment from its core networks, despite the deadline for removal being pushed back almost a year.
In 2020, the UK joined the US and its allies in announcing a ban on equipment from Shenzhen-based Huawei and other “high-risk vendors” being used in its 5G networks. The full removal of all Huawei equipment from 5G networks is required by the end of 2027, with several interim deadlines for operators to meet before then.
Two years after the announcement, and following a consultation with network operators concerned about the feasibility of the timescale, the government extended one of those interim deadlines – to remove Huawei equipment and services from core network functions – from 28 January 2023 to 31 December 2023.
It appears that BT, which acquired mobile network operator EE in 2016, has missed that deadline. According to a TechRadar Pro report, a BT spokesperson said: “All 4G and 5G data sessions and voice calls are now being delivered by non-Huawei core equipment – meaning that over 99 per cent of all core traffic is now being served by non-Huawei kit.”
Similar statements were issued in response to enquiries from The Register, The Telegraph and other publishers.
They said that the process of extracting Huawei equipment from its mobile network involves migrating 30 million active customers across many platforms.
BT added that the only voice and data services yet to be migrated to non-Huawei kit are using its legacy 2G and 3G networks, representing less than one per cent of total traffic. It said that it remained on target to remove Huawei from the non-core parts of its mobile network by 2027.
If BT has indeed missed the deadline, it could face staggering fines – up to 10 per cent of its revenue or £100,000 for every day the forbidden equipment remains in its network.
But given that its 4G and 5G networks are now running entirely on non-Huawei kit, and with 3G networks likely to be switched off by the end of 2025, there may be some leniency shown.
Paolo Pescatore, a telecommunications analyst at PP Foresight, told The Register: “I fully expect moves to extend [the deadline] further to avoid any fines. It underlines how reliant BT has been on Huawei and the complexities of removing a vendor entirely from both its fixed line and mobile networks.”
Ofcom, which is overseeing the phase-out of Huawei equipment, told TechRadar Pro: “[The] government is responsible for setting and enforcing the rules requiring certain telecoms companies to remove Huawei equipment from their networks. Ofcom’s role is to gather information on companies’ progress and report this to government.”
It is not yet clear whether other operators have been able to meet this interim deadline.
