The alliance will see the two firms work together at BT Labs and across the UK to explore various aspects of 5G, which is set to roll out in 2020.
BT said it will look at elements including network architecture; network slicing; machine-to-machine communications in Internet of Things applications; security; and developing a new interface between devices and base stations.
5G is predicted to play an integral role in the growth of IoT, and in an initial report into the technology, Huawei predicted it will support around 100 billion connections, offer 1ms of latency, and 10Gbps throughput.
Ken Hu, deputy chairman of the board and rotating CEO at Huawei said: “We are very proud of our work with BT over the last eleven years. We have conducted joint research and development activities which have led to new products and solutions and with 5G we look forward to continuing this fruitful partnership. Together we can explore the potential of 5G networks and analyze how this vital technology can best be delivered.
“The partnership also demonstrates Huawei’s continued commitment to partnering with world-leading business and academic organizations in the UK to further research and development. We have operated in the UK for fifteen years and we look forward to continuing to help build a better connected UK in partnership with BT.”
It is the latest in a longstanding partnership between BT and Huawei. Recently, the two firms hit 3Tbps data transfer in trials carried out over BT’s core network, while it also hit 2.1Gbps speeds on the LTE testlab of BT subsidiary EE.
Gavin Patterson, CEO of BT said: “We are determined to maximise the potential of 5G for our customers, so collaborative research has a key role to play as the technology develops. This partnership with Huawei will see us explore the potential uses and make sure 5G is designed to meet the needs of our consumer and business customers throughout the world.
“Huawei and BT have a strong record of collaboration when it comes to developing cutting-edge communications technologies, and we’re pleased to be building on that relationship to pioneer tomorrow’s mobile services.”
