Investing in Fixed Network Infrastructure to Boost Regional Digital Economy
On October 19, 2021, the Ultra-Broadband Forum (UBBF) 2021, themed "Extend Connectivity, Drive Growth", was held in Dubai. At the event, Bocar A. BA, CEO of the SAMENA Telecommunications Council, delivered a keynote speech titled "Investing in Fixed Network Infrastructure to Promote the Development of Regional Digital Economy." He shared his insights and suggestions on how to promote fixed network infrastructure, provide effective digital services to boost digital economy, and build an ultra-broadband network affordable to everyone.
Bocar believes that the power of broadband needs to be fully leveraged to accelerate economic recovery, create new opportunities, and promote the digital economy, and "the Internet is the lifeblood of digital economy." He also emphasized that advanced ICT infrastructures, including elastic networks, mobile broadband innovations, fixed broadband innovations, cloud communications, artificial intelligence, and new Internet protocols, are key to providing high-quality and enhanced network connectivity.
To meet the needs of billions of connections in the future, Bocar mentioned that an intelligent world "built on enhanced connectivity" is required. This intelligent world requires "bigger pipes and the right protocol, specifically, the right Internet Protocol", to support "human-to-human, human-to-machine, and machine-to-machine digital life". Such connectivity requires IP addresses. Only IPv6 can solve "the IP address shortage issue forever." Evolution to IPv6+ and enhancing connectivity help "our society to thrive in the digitally-driven future."
Bocar also said that an intelligent world starts with ultra-broadband. "By 'ultra' we don't just mean ultra-low latency, ultra-high bandwidth and data transmission rates, and massive connections. In fact, we are referring to the enablement of 5G transport, Internet of Things, data center interconnects, enterprise cloud applications, rendition of virtual-reality content through fast and stable transport networks," he added. He stressed that broadband networks are a necessary investment. By promoting the construction of fixed network infrastructure and providing effective digital services, ensure that everyone "can afford broadband connectivity and quality-of-service."
However, due to the digital divide, this goal is still far from being achieved. Bocar believes that the digital divide means three categories of divides:
- Divide between developed nations and developing nations.
- Divide between affluent communities within a country versus poor communities/households.
- Divide between population segments.
To bridge this digital divide, a reliable ICT infrastructure that can support "data demands of both people and machines" needs to be built. As more and more people and things go online, continuous investment in communications networks is required to ensure fast connections and data transmission between people, between people and things, and between things and things.
In light of this, fiber and IPv6 must be used in fixed network infrastructure construction. In Bocar's view, fiber needs to be physically brought closer to end users. In addition, IPv6 enhanced innovation (IPv6+) needs to be deployed on each end user device, IoT, or cloud service. In this way, not only massive address space can be provided, but also the digital experience quality of all services can be improved.
Bocar concluded this speech by calling for faster deployment of fibers and transition to IPv6 and IPv6+ to achieve the goal of extending connectivity and driving growth.
Source: Huawei Press Release