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Huawei has been a key player in the UK telecoms sector for 17 years but
The UK’s former incumbent telecoms operator BT is considering stripping Huawei equipment from its 4G network core according to reports in the British press.
A report in the Financial Times said that the UK operator was preparing to line up behind the US, New Zealand and Australia in announcing a ban on Huawei’s products in its network core.
Despite this setback, Huawei remains confident that the latest developments do not represent a terminal threat to its UK operations.
"Huawei has been working with BT for almost 15 years. Since the beginning of this partnership, BT has operated on a principle of different vendors for different network layers. This agreement remains in place today. Since it acquired EE in 2016, the BT Group has been actively bringing EE’s legacy network architecture in line with this long-standing agreement. This is a normal and expected activity, which we understand and fully support," Huawei said in a statement to Total Telecom.
"Huawei began working with EE in 2012. As part of this collaboration, we provided EE with a series of innovative and competitive 3G and 4G network solutions, including core network equipment. We have never had a cyber security-related incident. Huawei has a robust cyber security assurance system and a proven track record. Our products and solutions serve customers in more than 170 countries and regions, including major carriers, Fortune 500 companies, and hundreds of millions of individual consumers. We have earned the trust of our partners across the global value chain.
"As BT noted, "Huawei remains an important equipment provider and a valued innovation partner." Working together, we have already completed a number of successful 5G trials across different sites in London, and we will continue to work with BT in the 5G era."
Huawei has been present in the UK for 17 years and currently works with all the major carriers in the country. The Chinese tech giant has spent $828 million in the UK during that time.
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