By Lylie Happiness
Barcelona, Spain 27 February 2024, Civil society organizations are increasingly leveraging digital technologies and the advancements of the fourth Industrial Revolution to foster societal benefits, especially for the most vulnerable communities. From deploying drones for human rights surveillance to utilizing mobile data for humanitarian efforts, the digital era is offering new avenues to address global challenges.
At the forefront of this technological evolution, Huawei took center stage at the MWC Barcelona by hosting the “5G Beyond Growth Summit.” The event was aimed at exploring the expansion of 5G and the forthcoming commercialization of 5.5G technologies.
Li Peng, Huawei’s Corporate Senior Vice President and President of ICT Sales & Service, spearheaded discussions on how telecommunications carriers can harness the full potential of 5G for business success, and how the advent of 5.5G is poised to open up a realm of new possibilities for network capabilities and growth sectors.
Highlighting the rapid adoption of 5G, Li pointed out, “5G has embarked on a remarkable journey towards business success. Since its commercial launch in 2019, the technology has amassed 1.5 billion users globally—achieving in five years what took 4G nine years. Currently, 5G users represent 20% of the global mobile subscriber base, accounting for 30% of mobile traffic and contributing to 40% of mobile service revenue.”
With 5.5G slated for commercial rollout in 2024, Li emphasized the convergence of 5.5G, artificial intelligence (AI), and cloud computing as a catalyst for unleashing new applications and capabilities. He urged carriers worldwide to prioritize high-quality networking, diverse monetization strategies, innovative services, and the integration of generative AI to seize emerging opportunities.
The industrial application of 5G is also gaining momentum. In China alone, over 50,000 private 5G networks have been deployed across more than 50 industries, signaling the widespread acceptance and utility of 5G in the business-to-business (B2B) sector. The enhanced features of 5.5G, such as guaranteed low latency, precise positioning, and the support for passive Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, are expected to further broaden the horizon for carriers in the B2B market.
Furthermore, the global smartphone market is on the brink of transformation, with AI-enabled mobile phone shipments projected to hit 170 million units in 2024, accounting for 15% of the total smartphone market. The next generation of AI smartphones, boasting superior storage, display, and imaging capabilities, alongside AI-generated content (AIGC) applications, will generate an unprecedented amount of data, presenting new opportunities for carriers.
Li concluded his remarks with a forward-looking statement, “Together with carriers, we are set to explore the untapped potential of 5G and 5.5G, steering towards unparalleled growth.” This vision underscores the pivotal role of high-quality networks in shaping the future of business and societal advancement.- Namibia Daily News
