BT Group PLC (LSE:BT.A) is still partially operating banned Huawei equipment despite a government-set deadline for removal by December 31.
According to BT, 1% of data traffic remains in the hands of equipment from the Chinese technology giant and relates to old 2G and 3G networks.
“All 4G and 5G data sessions and voice calls are now delivered by non-Huawei core equipment,” a BT spokesperson said.
“Over 99% of all core traffic is now being served by non-Huawei kit.”
UK telecoms firms had been required to remove equipment provided by Huawei from the network core by late 2023 after a government move to clampdown on “high risk vendors” in 2020.
Failure to meet this target could result in fines of up to 10% of revenue or £100,000 for each day Huawei equipment is used after the ban.
Huawei’s technology had become a key part of the UK’s telecommunications network after over a decade of the company acting as a supplier.
The process of removing such equipment was set to be complicated and costly as a result, with BT having had to migrate 30 million active customers under the new rules.
BT had previously said the process would cost £500 million meanwhile, with the government having ordered the removals on national security concerns.