Chinese tech giant Huawei has signed a global commitment to join the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)’s Partner2Connect digital alliance, which will bring connectivity to about 120 million people in remote areas in more than 80 countries by 2025.
Dr. Liang Hua, chairman of Huawei, announced the decision at the company’s 2022 Sustainability Forum, Connectivity+: Innovate for Impact. The forum explored how ICT innovation could unleash the business and social value of connectivity and drive sustainability in the digital economy era.
Speakers at the event included senior leaders from the ITU and United Nations.
“It is clear connectivity alone is not enough. It must be affordable, the content must be relevant and in the local language, and users must have the skills to make the best use of it,” Malcolm Johnson, ITU deputy secretary-general, said. “Thank you to Huawei for their support of the Partner2Connect (P2C) Digital Coalition, and for their announced P2C pledges in the key areas of rural connectivity and digital skills.”
Siddharth Chatterjee, United Nations resident coordinator in China, called for “multi-stakeholder partnerships” of policymakers, the private sector, academia, and civil society to ”close the sobering reality” of a digital divide that excluded a third of the global population.
“Our dynamic world urgently needs improved digital cooperation to capitalize on the transformational potential of technology to create new jobs, boost financial inclusion, close the gender gap, spur a green recovery and redesign our world to be more prosperous and inclusive,” he said.
In his keynote address, Liang stressed that access to a stable network was a basic requirement and right in the digital age. For many who remain unconnected, access to reliable connectivity would mark the first step towards transforming their lives.
On the local front, Huawei Philippines is working together with local organizations to initiate Bohol Cacao Livelihood Recovery and Rehabilitation Program to help cacao farmers.
As one of the biggest manufacturers of cacao in the Philippines, cacao farming is one of the primary sources of income for farmers in Bohol, but over 20,000 cacao trees were affected by Typhoon Odette last year.
In order to help strengthen and create stability in the cacao industry in Bohol, the farmers will receive two days of training in cacao rehabilitation and restoration, integrated pest and disease management, cacao harvesting, and post-harvest care.
QR Code will also be implemented to aid in cocoa inventory and traceability. They can readily know and track the condition and state of cacao trees using the QR Code.
According to a report released by GSMA last July, based on Speedtest Intelligence data, Singapore led Southeast Asian on median 5G upload speeds in Q1 2022, Thailand and the Philippines followed with 207.27 Mbps and 163.51 Mbps median download speed, respectively.
Connectivity is not just a tool for convenient communications, but will help bring everyone into the digital world, and provide them with access to more information and skills, better services, and wider business opportunities. This will, in turn, drive further social and economic development, Huawei said during the event.
In the Philippines, Huawei also empowering educators and learners in the new normal.
“To help the Filipinos get better digital education by providing diverse programs to teachers and students through innovative solutions. We are grateful to be able to contribute our effort in building a digital society in the Philippines,” Daniel Guo, Huawei Philippines chief operating officer, said.
Launched in 2015, Huawei Seeds for the Future program has covered over 210 students for the past 8 years in the Philippines. ICT Academy, cooperated with USeP, MSU-IIT, DLSU at the beginning, has partnered with almost 70 universities in the Philippines, covering more than 15,000 students.
