Britain"s BT BT.L has selected Ericsson ERICb.ST to provide 5G radio equipment for its EE mobile network in London, Edinburgh, Belfast, Cardiff and other major UK cities, building on the contract it signed earlier this year for core technology. It comes after the British government said in July it would ban China’s Huawei Technologies from any presence in the country’s 5G networks by the end of 2027. Once the deployment is completed, Ericsson will manage around 50% of BT’s 5G traffic, the Swedish company said, adding that it will also modernise the company’s existing 2G and 4G radio networks. BT was deploying Huawei radio equipment in its 5G network before the ban. It will now divide the supply of antennas and base stations between Ericsson and Finland"s Nokia NOKIA.HE, the Chinese company"s main rivals. BT chief architect Neil McRae said the Huawei ban was one of the reasons for the award, but he added that BT already had a well-established partnership with Ericsson, including in building its new core network. “They’ve got a platform and a capability that impressed us, with useful capabilities that are unique to Ericsson and also some really strong areas of power management and spectrum management,” he said. Ericsson CEO Borje Ekholm said the win strengthened the company’s relationship with BT. “By deploying 5G in these key areas, we are yet again demonstrating our technology leadership in population-dense and high-traffic locations,” he said. BT signed a contract with Nokia last month to provide 5G radio equipment for multiple towns and cities across Britain, as well as rural locations.