BT has selected Ericsson as its 5G partner in London and other major UK cities. The move will allow BT to switch away from Huawei hardware which it has been ordered to stop using by the British government, citing security concerns.
Under the deal, Ericsson’s hardware will be used in major cities around the UK including London, Edinburgh, Belfast, Cardiff and elsewhere, ultimately managing around 50% of BT’s total 5G traffic. Additionally, Ericsson will modernise BT’s 2G and 4G Radio Access Network (RAN) infrastructure which will make the customer experience better for those on BT or EE networks. As BT had already selected Ericsson for its 5G Core earlier in the year, Ericsson will now be its end-to-end 5G partner.
Commenting on the agreement, Philip Jansen, CEO of 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.”
EE, which is owned by BT Group, announced earlier in the month that it would be expanding its 5G services to an additional 12 towns and cities around the country, bring the total to 112.