Huawei has just joined the Partner2Connect Digital Coalition, a multisectoral alliance led by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the UN Secretariat General for Digital Cooperation. The commitment is to bring connectivity to nearly 120 million people living in remote areas in more than 80 countries by 2025.
Liang Hua, president of Huawei, announced the decision at 2022 Sustainability Forum, Connectivity+: Innovate for Impact, which took place on the 23rd of November. The Forum explored how innovation in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can generate commercial and social value, and drive sustainability in the new era of digital economy.
Speakers at the event included ITU and United Nations leaders, as well as telecommunications ministers and regulators from Cambodia, Nigeria, Bangladesh and Pakistan, as well as business leaders, partners, experts and Huawei customers in China, South Africa , in Belgium and Germany.
“Clearly, connectivity alone is not enough. It must be accessible, the content must be relevant and in the local language, and users must have the skills to take full advantage of it,” said ITU Assistant Secretary General Malcolm Johnson. “Thanks to Huawei for their support of Partner2Connect Digital Coalition (P2C) and for its P2C commitments in the areas of rural connectivity and digital training”, he celebrated.
Siddharth Chatterjee, resident coordinator of the United Nations in China, spoke about the importance of “multisectoral partnerships”, such as the participation of public agents, the private sector, academia and civil society to reduce “the worrying reality” of the digital divide that excludes one-third of the world's population.
“Our world urgently needs digital cooperation to unlock the transformative potential of technology, create new jobs, increase financial inclusion, close gender gaps, spur sustainable development, and reshape our world to be more prosperous and inclusive. Now is the time to act,” he urged.
In his opening remarks, Hua emphasized that access to a stable network is a basic and fair requirement in the digital age. For many who remain disconnected, accessing trusted networks would mark the first step in transforming their lives.
“Connectivity is more than a communication tool. Along with digital technologies like the cloud and artificial intelligence, connectivity helps bring people closer together and gives them access to more information, knowledge and skills, and better services and business opportunities. This, in turn, drives social and economic development,” he said.
Cao Ming, president of Huawei Wireless Solution, emphasized Huawei's role in this process. “As a company with a broad portfolio of ICT solutions, Huawei integrates infrastructure, power, transmission and antenna technology resources to address the difficulties of deploying networks in more remote locations, which have restricted transportation, power outages and communication challenges. maintenance," he said.
“We continuously update the solutions RuralStare RuralLink to provide quality coverage in remote areas, allowing more people, community hospitals, schools, governments and small and medium-sized businesses to take full advantage of the same high-speed broadband connectivity experiences available in big cities,” he said.
The series solutions RuralStar provide connections to over 60 million people in remote areas in over 70 countries.
The construction of broadband fiber optic networks is another way to realize a universal broadband service. Huawei proposed a solution airPON innovative for areas with low population density. This solution reduces infrastructure size, fiber optic installation costs and energy consumption, while ensuring rapid deployment of local area networks.
In Africa alone, Huawei has installed more than 250,000 kilometers of optical fiber, providing 30 million homes with high-speed broadband access. Average connection speeds exceed 30 Mbit/s, providing users with a smarter, faster and more reliable network experience.
As the ICT infrastructure evolves, innovative technologies like the cloud and artificial intelligence will allow people in rural and remote areas to enjoy the conveniences of a digital world. Huawei Cloud proposed the strategy Everything as a Service and provided more than 30 years of technical experience in digital transformation through cloud services. This means easy and sustainable access to Huawei's digital infrastructure resources as simply as access to water and electricity.
Digital transformation, enabling digital talent and new business models are essential for the development of isolated regions. Huawei announced that by 2025, with improved ICT infrastructure, the company will work with partners to enable 500 million people to enjoy digital financial services and 500,000 to enjoy inclusive education.
In Cambodia, the ITU's first P2C partner country, Huawei will work with government sectors, through the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications and universities, to provide 10,000 training opportunities for ICT professionals over the next five years.
Huawei is committed to inclusive development. Through its constant technological innovation, it is contributing to a greater reach of digitalization in isolated regions, allowing entire populations to enjoy the facilities of a digital life and promoting the balanced and equitable development of the global digital economy.
