BT Group missed a deadline to completely remove Huawei equipment from the core of its network with the migration of 2G and 3G services still outstanding, although the company stated 99 per cent of the work is now completed.

A BT spokesperson told Mobile World Live all 4G and 5G data sessions and voice calls are now delivered by non-Huawei core equipment, with only 2G and 3G voice and data services yet to be migrated. This “accounts for less than 1 per cent of the total traffic. We’re working hard to complete this work”, added the representative.

News emerged at the end of the year that BT was at risk of missing a government deadline, which had been extended twice since first being implemented in July 2020, to remove all Huawei equipment from the core of its network by 31 December 2023.

BT could now face a fine of as much as 10 per cent of its revenue or £100,000 a day for each day it goes over the timeline.

In its statement, the company explained the process of removing Huawei from the core of its live mobile network and migrating 30 million active customers across multiple platforms, while building a new 5G network and expanding its 4G offering, “has been unprecedented in terms of scale, cost and complexity.

“We’ll provide more information to Ofcom as part of their statuatory obligation to report to the government in March on compliance with the regulations,” added the statement.

BT added it remains on target to meet a deadline of 2027 to remove Huawei from the radio access part of its mobile network.

Huawei has always maintained its equipment does not pose a security threat.