BT is at risk of missing its deadline to remove Huawei equipment from its core network ahead of the UK government’s deadline of December 31.

Bloomberg reports that BT is still working to replace Huawei's kit with equipment from Ericsson, noting a spokesperson could not confirm whether it will meet the deadline.

BT started the removal of Huawei kit from its network back in 2021, following the UK government's decision to ban equipment from all vendors deemed to be high-risk.

Huawei has been accused by the US Administration of being a threat to national security. The US has also accused the Chinese vendor of being a tool of the Chinese state, which the company has heavily denied.

As part of this ban, telcos were given an initial deadline of January 2023 to remove Huawei's kit from the core, but this date was extended until the end of the year.

Operators that miss the target could be fined as much as 10 percent of their revenue, or £100,000 ($126,560) for every day they aren’t compliant.

BT previously said that removing Huawei from its networks will cost around £500 million ($633m).

Earlier this year, rival telco Vodafone told DCD that its own removal of Huawei equipment from its 5G networks is on track, despite slowing down its overall network rollout.

All telcos in the UK are required to remove all Huawei equipment from their 5G networks by the end of 2027, as part of the ban.

Huawei has maintained that its telecoms kit is not a risk to national security.