Page 41 - SAMENA Trends - February-March 2021

REGIONAL & MEMBERS UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

Huawei Reiterates Its Support for UN's Sustain-

able Development Goals

The “Connected for Shared Prosperity Forum” was held by Huawei, and together, we must do two things to fully unleash the
Global Mobile Association (GSMA), where participants joined both online power of technology and drive sustainable development.
and in person to discuss the value of digital technologies in sustainable 5G is a standardized technology defined by its high
development for a better, connected world, representing organizations bandwidth, low latency, and broad connectivity. It helps
from around the world, including international industry regulators and traditional industries transform and can benefit all. Wide-
think tanks. More than 1000 guests from over 50 countries attended scale 5G deployment can already be seen in multiple
the conference online. Chen Lifang, Huawei Senior Vice President and industries around the world. Every-day consumers are
Board Member, delivered a keynote speech titled "Believe in the Power benefiting from 5G experiences, while industrial use
of Technology" where she described how technology can be used as an in seaports, mines, and the transportation sector is
engine for human progress. While calling on individuals and businesses to increasing operational efficiency. Is this a bad thing? I
think big and act small, Chen reiterated her support of the UN's sustainable don’t think so. If we claim that technology is critically
development goals and building a green, innovative and inclusive world. important but its development is ideologically wrong, this
We've all had mixed feelings about 2020. The pandemic has changed our will only result in division, confusion, and regression. We
lives. Many things we took for granted no longer exist and our values have must reach a global consensus on this issue and believe
changed. My biggest take away from the past year has been just how hard in the power of technology to leverage it for the benefit
it is for society to reach a consensus. There seems to be constant conflict of the society. Of course, there is always the danger that
and disagreement, from deciding if it's necessary to impose lockdowns someone will abuse a new technology. This is not a new
to debating if it's worth it to wear a mask. Today, we've come together concern. But since the industrial revolution, we have
to discuss the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals. I, seen how establishing rules to manage technological
personally, believe that technology is crucial to advancing these goals, risks can safeguard us. Through rules, technological
developments can transcend national boundaries and
improve the livelihoods of all without incurring undue
risk. We are entering a digital era, and many are hard at
work creating the governance rules for cyber security,
privacy protection, and trusted AI that will keep us safe.
For the rest of us, it’s time to be confident and open to
technological development. What’s more, Huawei and
UNESCO launched the Open Schools program over the
course of a three-year partnership, to help schools in
Egypt, Ethiopia, and Ghana improve their digital skills
with online education. Every one of these examples,
every single connection, every gram of emissions
reduced, every watt of electricity saved, every small
improvement we've made, couldn't have been achieved
without small advances in tech. This is the value tech
brings to the world.

Huawei Chief Warns of Growing Digital Divide

Huawei rotating chairman Ken Hu unprecedented disruption for the whole noting this requires network coverage to
highlighted the Covid-19 (coronavirus) of mankind. Yet, we have accelerated be better balanced. He noted the gap to
pandemic had exposed weaknesses the process of the digitalization and countries which are slower to deploy 5G
in communications infrastructure intelligent transformation, with more networks and services would expand as the
across the world, and warned a lack of and more companies embracing digital technology advances and spreads. Hu said
access to 5G services could widen the technologies,” Hu said He explained traffic 2020 was not an easy year for Huawei due
digital divide. In a keynote, he explained distribution changed dramatically. Before to the pandemic and “we were confronted
changing behaviors caused by lockdown the pandemic, there were distinct peak by some extraordinary difficulties”, but
restrictions had negative and positive and low periods. “Now there is no clear managed to record relatively stable results
impacts worldwide. For example, while line between the two”, with the lines also in line with its original guidance on revenue
bankruptcies of small enterprises spiked, blurred between indoor and outdoor, and and profitability. But he added 2020 was
data traffic surged as much as 70 per cent urban and rural usage. “The distribution is also a year of learning and “brings a lot of
in some areas. “Covid-19 brought about becoming more even than before,” he said, possibilities for us in future”.

41 FEB-MAR 2021