Doha: In his opening keynote at the SAMENA Leaders’ Summit, where the leading telecom and ICT leaders in the region gathered, Steven Yi, President of Huawei Middle East and Central Asia, addressed the audience with futuristic but also pragmatic ICT industry viewpoint, reflecting on the company sustainable approach. He reiterated that the Gulf countries continue to lead the global 5G deployment and commercialisation and offer a fertile environment for the development of 5.5G.

Steven said: “It is widely acknowledged that the digital economy plays a pivotal role in driving global economic growth. AI as the key technology, will help to build an intelligent world and boost digital economic progress. The rapid rise of AI technology has significantly increased computing power demand. To train and increase accuracy, AI systems need large volumes of data, which must be transmitted rapidly, processed efficiently, and stored safely.”

It is estimated that by 2030, the thriving digital economy. Huawei believes that sustainable digital economic growth will be based on three powers, the transmission power that can support over 200 billion global connections, the computing power that can meet 500 times increased AI computing demands, and the storage power that can store an impressive 1 Yottabyte (a quadrillion Gigabytes) of data yearly. He stressed that building these three powers involves continuous investment in connectivity infrastructure, green deployment and local digital talents.

“Today’s connected world demands network connectivity investment. These networks are essential in connecting people with people, people with things, things with things, and transmitting data rapidly and accurately. Advanced connectivity infrastructure can bridge the digital divide and unlock digital economy benefits,” Steven added.

Continuous evolution to the 5.5G era is the way to ensure that the infrastructure will meet demands for a more immersive experience and unleash the potential powers for sustainable digital economic growth.He highlighted that 5G/5.5G as the crucial ICT connectivity technology can create tangible values toward a digital economy represented in many key outcomes such as reaching the top rate in internet access for more social benefits, contributing to GDP, driving better economic growth and energy saving through 5G networks.

“A sustainable digital economy will require more than connectivity. Green ICT solutions must also be prioritized. We must consider the environmental impact as we embrace technology and extend digital networks. We can protect the environment and preserve the digital economy by incorporating eco-friendly and energy-efficient ICT infrastructure. Furthermore, ICT will also boost industry-wide green practices,” Steven added. It is estimated that adapting ICT-enabled digital solutions will help reduce 20% of global carbon emissions by 2030.

He further elaborated that a sustainable digital economy demands a large pool of local talents that is proficient in the latest technologies and able to adapt to new developments quickly. Governments and businesses must continue to invest in training and education programs to ensure that workers have the skills they need to succeed in the digital economy, he explained.

Steven said that “Over the last decades, we have put a lot of effort into creating social values for each country by creating hundreds and thousands of job opportunities for the local people, actively working with local partners, and cultivating over 100,000 local ICT talents through our different training certification programs. We will continue working with our partners to bring pioneering new technologies to the region that will enrich people’s lives with immersive digital services and enable smart solutions to accelerate the industry’s digital transformation and related social value,” he added.

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