Huawei has joined a global digital alliance led by the International Telecommunications Union to bring more than 120 million people living in unconnected rural areas to the internet.
Known as Partner2Connect, the international digital alliance aims to provide digital connectivity to more than 80 countries by 2025.
It is designed to extend quality coverage to remote areas, enabling more people, community hospitals, schools, local governments and small and medium businesses to enjoy the same high-speed broadband connectivity experiences as those of the cities.
Huawei will deploy its RuralStar series solutions which currently serve more than 60 million people in remote areas of more than 70 countries.
The construction of broadband optical networks offers another important path towards achieving universal service.
Huawei will also roll out its innovative AirPON solution for low-density areas.
This solution continuously reduces equipment room footprint, fiber optic installation costs and network power consumption, while ensuring the rapid deployment of local communication networks.
Dr. Liang Hua, President of Huawei, announced the decision at the company’s 2022 Sustainability Forum, Connectivity+: Innovate for Impact.
In his opening speech, Mr. Liang stressed that access to a stable network is a basic requirement and a right in the digital age.
For many who are still unconnected, access to reliable connectivity would mark the first step towards transforming their lives.
In his address, ITU Deputy Secretary-General Malcolm Johnson noted that connectivity alone is not enough. It must be affordable, the content must be relevant and in the local language, and users must have the skills to make the best use of it.
Other stakeholders present at the meeting included the United Nations whose Resident Coordinator in China Siddharth Chatterjee called for “multi-stakeholder partnerships” of policymakers, the private sector, academia and civil society to end “the sad reality” of a digital divide that excluded a third of the world’s population.
Quotation
“Connectivity will be more than just a convenient communication tool. Combined with digital technologies such as cloud and AI, connectivity will help bring everyone into the digital world and give them access to more information and skills, better services and broader business opportunities. . This, in turn, will boost social and economic development,” he said.
“We appreciate Huawei’s support of the Partner2Connect (P2C) digital coalition in the key areas of rural connectivity and digital skills.”
“Our dynamic world urgently needs enhanced digital cooperation to harness the transformative potential of technology to create new jobs, boost financial inclusion, close the gender gap, spur a green recovery and redesign our world to be more prosperous and inclusive,” he said.