Nokia Finland will replace Huawei as BT 's largest equipment provider after successfully signing an agreement to supply 5G networks across the UK. It is the first UK contract for a Finnish telecommunications company since Prime Minister Boris Johnson banned mobile companies from using equipment made by the Chinese giant in their new 5G network last July.
This is because Huawei is accused of risking national security, forcing mobile phone companies to start switching high-risk vendors from 2021, and opening up golden opportunities to Huawei's 2 main competitors in the 5G market, namely Nokia Finland and Ericsson Sweden.
In addition, companies in the UK have been given a period until 2027 to remove Huawei devices from their 5G network, a change that will cost $ 643 million.
Under the agreement signed, Nokia will provide base stations and other network equipment to enable its customers to access 5G internet at an instant rate. In addition, Nokia equipment will also be installed on the company's existing 2G and 4G networks.
According to BT, they will also use other suppliers to replace the entire Huawei 5G device.
Although restrictions on Huawei provide significant impetus for Nokia and Ericsson, analysts have warned that they will face difficulties in meeting market demand.
Nokia last year lowered its revenue forecast for 2020 due to fierce competition in the 5G network market.
However, the company's latest results managed to record an increase in profits, and their new CEO, Pekka Lundmark is expected to push the company to work to overcome some of the losses they incur.
