Accelerating the Digitization of Uganda to Build a Better Connected World

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By Huawei Uganda MD: Mr. Stanley Chyn

The digital and physical worlds are becoming deeply integrated. This will mean connections not just between people, but also between people and machines, and between machines and machines, and not just connections, but smart connections, which will enable smart applications, smart homes, smart cities, and even smart nations. A Better Connected World is therefore at hand.

However, 4 billion people still lack internet access. Although mobile phones are nearly universal, only about 12% of the people in emerging economies have a broadband data connection. Most unconnected people live in countries with underdeveloped economies and poor digital infrastructure. Yet tremendous growth potential could be unlocked by improving connectivity. With the right ICT policies that support innovation and fair competition, countries can help connect the world’s unconnected populations and narrow the digital divide.

Connecting the unconnected is a problem with no single solution. As such, it requires governments, operators, equipment vendors, and app developers to work together. The top priority is to build digital infrastructure, which serves as the basis for nearly all innovation in the digital realm. To this end Huawei has been solidifying efforts over the years with our partners on all fronts because we believe that ICT technologies are reshaping Africa and other parts of the world, and leading the next wave of sustainable social development.

ICT infrastructure is vital to enabling social transformation, bridging the digital divide, promoting innovation, and boosting national competitiveness. It is the foundation of the information society and without it our digital revolution will go nowhere. ICT infrastructure has become an engine driving the world economic recovery and sustainable growth. Most countries have added ICT investment to their national strategies. By doing so, developed countries can maintain their competitive vitality and developing countries can enjoy faster growth. ICT is changing our daily life. It changes the way we work, we buy, we sell, and we communicate. It changes every industry. It connects this world in a smarter way. That’s why we say we are global citizens living in the global village.

Huawei’s strategy is to focus on ICT infrastructure and become the enabler of the information society. Huawei’s strategy is, in fact, focused on ICT infrastructure, with an emphasis on three main areas: networks that transmit and distribute information; computing and storage devices that process and save it; and smart devices that generate and consume it.

With our 18 years of experience within Africa’s ICT industry, coupled with our extensive industry global network, Huawei is well positioned to share the best practices and latest ICT solutions. Huawei has a presence in most of the 54 African countries where it works closely with telecom operators to modernize their respective networks and with governments to support ICT infrastructure deployment and digital transformation practice. Huawei entered the Ugandan ICT market 13 years ago when the mobile penetration rate was less than 5%. Mobile penetration in Uganda has now reached 60% and the citizens of Kampala can now enjoy a continuous high-speed 4G network which has greatly enriched and facilitated people’s lives. Huawei devices have been deployed nationwide and Huawei has to date trained many professional and technical personnel for Uganda.

During the week of 5^th to 8^th of April, 2016, we held the Huawei Uganda Technology Festival to Kampala via our Demo Truck which highlighted with the aid of demos, presentations and workshops showing Huawei’s latest innovative solutions in the network, enterprise, devices and ICT spaces. During the four days, the Minister of ICT Hon. John Nasasira, the Ambassador of China to Uganda H.E Zhao Yali, officials from NITA, Ministry of Defence, Uganda Revenue Authority, major telecom partners and students from various universities visited the Huawei Mobile Broadband Demo Truck to witness the various technical solutions.

With the signing of an ICT partnership MOU between the Ministry of ICT of Uganda and Huawei, we officially became the ICT partner of the government of Uganda and will dedicated ourselves more to the development of the ICT industry of Uganda.