BEIJING, November 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — A report from chinadaily.com.cn:
Huawei Technologies’ information and communication solutions will bring connectivity to 120 million people in remote areas of more than 80 countries and regions by 2025, a senior executive said Wednesday.
The plan is part of Huawei’s broader efforts to expand connectivity in the era of the digital economy and to explore how to use better connectivity to create greater business and social value while promoting sustainability.
By the end of 2021, Huawei’s RuralStar telecom solutions had already helped connect 60 million people in remote areas in more than 70 countries and regions, the company said.
Liang Hua, president of Huawei, said that in the smart age, connectivity will be more than just a convenient communication tool. Combined with digital technologies such as the cloud and artificial intelligence, connectivity will help bring everyone into the digital world and drive social progress.
“Connectivity is not only the cornerstone of the digital economy, but a fundamental right for every human being,” Liang said at the company’s “Connectivity+: Innovate for Impact” forum at shenzhen, Guangdong Province.
But today, there is still a long way to go before everyone can easily access quality Internet services. According to the GSMA’s Mobile Economy Report 2022, only 6% of the world’s population lives in areas without mobile network coverage. But a huge usage gap remains, as many people who have coverage are still not using the internet. In 2021, the usage gap was 3.2 billion people, or 41% of the world’s population.
To address the issue, Huawei is working closely with industry organizations and partners.
In Nigeria, for example, Life-Bank, a local digital health platform, saves lives by delivering needed medical supplies as quickly as possible. Connecting hospitals to supply centers, LifeBank provides real-time access to blood and oxygen products and ensures quality services through end-to-end management, from supply and tracing to tracking and the delivery. This is possible based on the digital connectivity made possible by Huawei’s technologies.
The Chinese company is also working to accelerate digitization for stronger digital and real economies.
“As digital technology allows more industries to go digital, the digital economy is becoming more integrated with the real economy. This will greatly promote economic stability and sustainability around the world,” Liang said.
However, there is a growing digital divide between small and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, as SMEs work on the first stage of digital transformation – trying to connect everything.
To this end, Huawei announced in 2021 that it would invest $100 million in the Spark program in the Asia Pacific region over the next three years. “Through this program, we share our extensive information and communications technology experience and cloud platform resources with startups. It gives them the resources to go digital and succeed in business,” Liang said.
SOURCE chinadaily.com.cn