Telecom regulators across many nations and industries must work together to address the shared challenges that have emerged as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and create a more inclusive future for all, according to Catherine Chen, an IT expert.
Chen, the Huawei’s Corporate Senior Vice President and Director of the Board, said this while delivering a keynote speech at the online Better World Summit 2020 in Shenzhen, China, on Wednesday.
Over the past 30 years, information technologies have advanced rapidly, making people’s lives and work much easier, according to Chen.
She said the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed though that digital infrastructure had not kept pace with technological developments.
According to the International Telecommunication Union, ITU, over half of the world’s population still does not have Internet access nor access to other digital technologies.
“As economies across countries slow, governments grow increasingly concerned with economic recovery strategies.
“We envision a more connected, intelligent, and innovative future.
“Above all else, we must ensure this is an inclusive, sustainable, and better future by all, for all,” said Chen.
As more countries and regions successfully implement infection control measures to slow the spread of COVID-19, economic activity in certain countries has begun to return to normal, she noted.
“Multiple governments have launched a variety of stimulus plans, and ICT invariably has held a key place in these plans.
“In China, the New Infrastructure plan has set aside over 140 billion US dollars to be invested in 5G alone over the next five years.
“This is expected to grow China’s digital economy by more than 2 trillion US dollars and boost domestic economic recovery.
“The EU has also announced a 1.1-trillion-euro package to enhance economic recovery.
“To revive the economy, we need top-down designs, as well as bottom-up creativity and vitality,” noted Chen.
“Supporting government policies coupled with active digital transformation across the industry will bring the benefits of digital technology to all industries, boost their efficiency, and restore growth.”
Referencing the recent World Bank report on the growing gap between the fast-growing global digital economy and a lack of digital skills, Chen said, “Huawei is continuing with its flagship Seeds for the Future program.
“This program was launched in 2008, and is designed to develop local ICT talent.
“So far, this program has benefited more than 30,000 students from over 400 universities in 108 countries and regions.
“Due to the pandemic, we are moving the program online and opening it up to more outstanding students than ever before.
“As more industries adopt digital technologies, they will drive the United Nation’s 2030 Strategic Development Goals, especially those related to climate change.”
Other speakers at the summit included representatives from the International Telecommunication Union Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSMA), the European Competitive Telecommunications Association (ECTA), the South African Department of Communications and Digital Technologies, Thailand’s Office of the National Digital Economy and Society Commission, China’s Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT), the Germany Association of the Internet Industry (ECO), and the ADL.
These speakers were joined by several thousand online attendees from more than 80 countries to explore how industry policy can promote development of the digital economy, facilitate economic recovery, and build a better future for all, by all.
The Better World Summit was broadcast live in Chinese, English, Spanish, French, Russian, Korean, Japanese, and Arabic.
About Huawei
Huawei is a leading global provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices.
Huawei’s end-to-end portfolio of products, solutions and services are both competitive and secure.
Through open collaboration with ecosystem partners, Huawei creates lasting value for customers, working to empower people, enrich home life, and inspire innovation in organizations of all shapes and sizes.
At Huawei, innovation focuses on customer needs.
The company invest heavily in basic research, concentrating on technological breakthroughs that drive the world forward.
It has 194,000 employees, and operate in more than 170 countries and regions.
Founded in 1987, Huawei is a private company fully owned by its employees.
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