Huawei to provide connectivity to 120m people of remote areas

Huawei has signed a global commitment to join the International Telecommunication Union's Partner2Connect digital alliance, which will bring connectivity to about 120 million people in remote areas in more than 80 countries by 2025.

Liang Hua, Chairman of Huawei, announced the decision at the company's 2022 Sustainability Forum, Connectivity+: Innovate for Impact, on Wednesday. The forum explored how ICT innovation could unleash the business and social value of connectivity and drive sustainability in the digital economy era.

Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar joined the event virtually, along with senior leaders from the ITU and United Nations, telecom ministers and regulators in Cambodia, Nigeria, and Pakistan, and business leaders, partners, experts, and customers from China, South Africa, Belgium, and Germany.

Journalists from different countries also joined the event physically and virtually. A group of journalists from Bangladesh joined the virtual event together at Huawei Technologies (Bangladesh) Ltd office in the capital.

In the keynote address, Dr 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.

"Connectivity will be more than just a tool for convenient communications," he said. "Together with digital technologies like cloud and AI, connectivity 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."