Howard Watson, BT Group's chief security and networking officer, revealed in a strategy update that the operator expects to complete the removal of Huawei equipment from its core network by the end of next month and announced plans to roll out standalone 5G this year.
The company missed the deadline for dismantling the equipment at the end of the year, but by that time it had already completed nearly 99% of the work. However, it can be punishable by a fine.
Watson stresses that superior infrastructure is "not fit for traffic" and explains that it is the packets that are used to manage and replace platforms during the build process.
He added that from conversations between operators and authorities about efforts to remove Huawei kits, they were "impressed by the amazing progress."
Independence
In addition to replacing Huawei, the company's chief network officer, Greg McCall, highlighted that the company is on track to activate its commercial standalone 5G network later this year.
However, McCall reiterated what was said two years ago that it was not rushing and wanted to "build the right network at the right time."
Noting the collaboration with Nokia and Ericsson and the testing of network slicing and carrier aggregation, he added: "It's progressing well, but we're not in a hurry to get there." We want to get it right, we want to get the right quality and service levels that will allow us to stand out and enable our customers to use the core capabilities of the 5G SA network."
Rival Vodafone UK launched its first SA network site in June 2023.
Regarding the next phase of 5G opportunities, McCall is bullish on the prospects for 5G advanced and network slicing, which he claims is a "very powerful thing" and says "I can definitely see that slicing is certainly an option for high-level gamers, and even those who want to work undisturbed on our network." ”
The company is also positive about the network-as-a-service opportunity, supporting GSMA's open gateway initiative and related opportunities to provide API access.
Approaching sunset
While looking to the future, the company is also cutting ties with legacy technology as 3G shuts down. McCall said he was "pleased" with the progress made so far, adding that "we don't have to revoke any of the ** that has been closed".
The company has now decommissioned 13,500 3G sites, about 73% of its previous capacity. It expected the process to be completed within a few weeks.
He added that the move is not only a positive for users, but also a boon for companies to reduce energy use and associated cash savings, given the improved 4G and 5G services.