Once isolated communities are connected, the training helps them realize the power of digital
Providing network coverage to remote communities around the world can be a huge challenge. But once it has been achieved, training may be required to ensure that users are aware of the world of opportunity that connectivity offers.
“It is important to ensure that our children are digitally literate, which should start with introducing them to communication technologies,” says Sri Wahyuningsih, director of elementary schools at the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture. “We need to teach them how to access them and use them properly.”
Sri Wahyuningsih
Currently, Huawei is working with local partners in Indonesia to provide network access to residents of the country who are scattered across approximately 17,500 islands. In the province of Papua alone, Huawei and local operator BAKTI are building hundreds of communication towers. Once connectivity is available, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology then organizes training seminars.
In the small Papuan town of Sorong (population 270,000), Teguh Iskandar Hidayat Alam, head of public relations and business development at Muhammadiyah University, is one of the instructors. Her practical seminars are well attended, with a large proportion of women in the class.
“We need to organize more literacy seminars to support human resource development,” says Teguh. His courses focus on four areas, which he calls the four pillars of digital literacy: digital skills, digital creativity, digital security and online hoax detection.
teaching of teguh
“In five days, I learned how to promote my products on social networks such as FaceBook, Instagram and TikTok,” explains one of the participants, Rani Inseren Sowor. The Sorong resident opened a shop selling her handicrafts in the summer of 2022. “I really need to be part of some deep learning about digital literacy and social media, and this is just the beginning,” she says.
Huawei has developed a wide range of products, technologies and know-how to provide connectivity to the tens of millions of people around the world who are still unconnected. This includes low cost antennas; solar energy, batteries and energy management systems; and a wide range of microwave links that can reach isolated communities.
Rani Inseren Sowor
Solutions can be basic and very affordable, or more sophisticated, depending on local needs. Huawei’s highly cost-effective RuralStar solution represents a complete overhaul of base station design. RuralStar is made up of robust but simple telecommunications components. The kit requires so little energy to operate that a few solar panels are enough. More complex “butterfly sites” are installed on taller antenna poles. They can usually provide network coverage on multiple frequency bands and can serve a wider territory due to their height.
Learn more about the importance of digital literacy in Papua in the video below.
