BT will remove Huawei hardware from its core 4G network within the next two years amid concerns over China's influence on national telecoms infrastructure.

The decision comes as governments increase their scrutiny of Huawei equipment ahead of rolling out 5G, the next generation mobile communication technology that promise faster download speeds and better connections.

A spokesman said that Huawei devices will be removed “from the core of our 3G and 4G networks as part of our network architecture principles in place since 2006”.

“We’re applying these same principles to our current request for proposal for 5G core infrastructure. As a result, Huawei have not been included in vendor selection for our 5G core," the spokesman added.

Huawei was founded in 1987 by Ren Zhengfei, a former engineer in the Chinese People's Liberation Army.

The business’ devices are banned from use in US government networks over concerns that the business’ close relationship with the Chinese government could leave customers liable to espionage and interception of critical data.

BT’s decision to strip Huawei hardware from its core 4G network, first reported by The Financial Times, comes as the US government reportedly pressures friendly nations to reduce their reliance on the Chinese technology.