By Kanishka Singh
Nov 25 (Reuters) - Britain's BT Group Plc is looking
for a new broadband equipment supplier as it plans to roll out
full-fibre broadband to millions of homes by the mid-2020s, the
communications services company said on Monday.
BT's fixed-line network arm Openreach has started an
evaluation process seeking a third strategic vendor alongside
telecoms gear makers Nokia Oyj and Huawei
Technologies Co Ltd for the rollout, Richard Knowles,
an Openreach spokesman, told Reuters.
The development comes as the United States has been pressing
nations not to grant Huawei access to 5G networks and alleged
that Huawei's equipment could be used by Beijing for spying,
which the Chinese company has repeatedly denied.
"We already manage a large and diverse supply chain across
our full fibre build, and we're constantly reviewing our options
to make sure we can carry on building a high-quality network
that offers great value for money", Knowles said.
"We're on track to make faster, more reliable full fibre
broadband available to four million premises by March 2021", he
added.
Full-fibre broadband is an internet connection that is
entirely served by a fibre optic cable.
Bloomberg reported earlier BT will be seeking proposals from
potential suppliers by January aiming to make a decision in the
second quarter next year and that U.S.-based vendors are
expected to bid.
In May, U.S President Donald Trump signed an executive order
barring U.S. companies from using telecommunications equipment
made by companies posing a national security risk.
The Trump administration also added Huawei to its trade
blacklist in May, citing national security concerns.
The question of whether Huawei's 5G equipment could contain
back doors allowing access to Chinese spying has been dividing
countries in the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network.
The United States, Australia and New Zealand have bans in
place, while Britain has been taking a less firm line,
indicating Huawei's 5G products could be used in less sensitive
areas.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had postponed a
decision on whether to use Huawei 5G network equipment until
after the October federal election and has not commented on the
issue since winning the Oct. 21 vote.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Tom
Brown)
BT (BT.A)
