BT hands Ericsson major 5G contract as Huawei snub continues

Nordic vendor will help manage 50 per cent of 5G traffic going through BT and its EE provider

Ericsson has won a huge contract to provide technology for BT's 5G networks in major cities across the UK.

The Swedish firm said it would eventually manage 50 per cent of traffic across BT's network, as well as across its EE brand.

Philip Jansen, CEO at BT, said: "Our customers deserve the best network and we are delivering.

"We're the UK leader in 5G and are excited to be working with Ericsson as a key partner to maintain that market leadership. Through this deal, we will continue to drive the best mobile experiences for our customers.

"The lightning-fast speeds of 5G will help them to develop their businesses, stream a growing choice of content over our network, and stay in touch with colleagues and friends all over the world."

The news comes after the UK government's decision in July to ban UK network operators from buying Huawei hardware to build the country's 5G network, following a long-simmering furore against the China-HQ company.

The decision prompted a furious response from Huawei claiming the UK was consigning itself to life "in the digital slow lane".

UK broadband operators have been given a two-year deadline to transition away from the company.

BT has since announced that Nokia will become its biggest provider of 5G hardware.

BT and Ericsson are already partners in the construction of BT's "core" network; the infrastructure that routes data and voice calls.

Ericsson says the addition of the 5G network deal now makes the Swedish telco giant an end-to-end 5G partner for the UK.

Ericsson CEO, Börje Ekholm, said the company is proud to help the UK "drive its 5G ambitions".

"5G plays a critical role in meeting the UK's digital ambitions, accelerating digitalisation of the economy and stimulating next generation wireless innovation for consumers and enterprise," he said.

"With leading 5G technology, a robust supply chain capability, and more than 120 years of local presence in the UK, we're committed to rolling out a reliable and secure 5G network alongside BT."

"By deploying 5G in these key areas, we are yet again demonstrating our technology leadership in population-dense and high traffic locations."