ITU Telecom World

Welcome Botswana, Mali and Eswatini to ITU Telecom World 2018! Joining the global tech event for governments, corporates and SMEs for the first time, these countries shared their SME innovations, strategies, policies and opportunities with the international audience at the event.

With a mobile penetration rate of 153%, Botswana has one of the highest mobile penetration rates in Africa.  The country ranks No.5 in Sub-Saharan Africa (according to ITU’s 2017 ICT Development Index). Visitors to the pavilion were able to explore the work of regulator BOCA, and discover more key ICT information for Botswana. Botswana Innovation Hub is the national innovation agency for Botswana, supporting and promoting innovation, tech entrepreneurship and ecosystem development. BoFiNet is a wholesale provider of national and international telecommunication infrastructure, custodian of a local network of almost 9,000km of optic fibre that covers a vast landscape of the country. Intellegere Holdings provides solutions in areas such as data management, information security, innovation research, information assurance, security engineering, and IT training, as well as the BW Lingos – an innovative app to help understand other indigenous languages. Developing profitable ICT solutions relevant to the African market is the focus of Brastorne Enterprises- motto Connecting the Unconnected-, and its portfolio includes services such as mobile money, mhealth and mobile agriculture (mAgri), all of which help serve the needs of youth, women and underserved populations.

Mali showcased some of its cutting edge SMEs, the activities of regulator AMRTP and the Ministry of digital economy and communication, as it prepares and implements the national policy in the fields of information technology, postal, information and communications.

Delegates were able to discover the diverse opportunities within the Kingdom of Eswatini’s Royal Science and Technology Park. Established in 2012, the Park combines innovation park, national data centre, business incubator and biotechnology park- a multi-purpose platform for R&D in bio-related technologies, production marketing and trading. With its diverse activities the park is also a great way to tap into a body of ICT professionals, who are keen to meet and exchange knowledge with potential partners from around the world.

“We need to have innovative ideas in new technologies, but also ways in which to invest our limited resources,” noted ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao in his keynote address to the first plenary forum session at ITU Telecom World 2018, ably moderated by Damon Embling of Euronews.  “Inclusiveness is very important – we must not leave anyone behind.”

Taking up the challenge in his opening remarks, Mr Cesar Alierta Izuel, Executive Chairman, ProFuturo Foundation, highlighted the importance of one single element: digital literacy. In the digital era, where the potential growth of the world economy in the period from 1995 to 2030 is four times greater than during the industrial revolution in the nineteenth century, digital technologies are affecting every aspect of life and opening up tremendous opportunities. “Innovation is key.” he said, “In today’s digital world, the capacity for innovation is spectacular. The key to progress has always been education, and now more than ever we need to change the whole system, make it digital.”

Reminding us that some 65% of today’s schoolchildren around the world will work in professions within the digital landscape which do not yet exist today, he stressed how critical it is to equip children with digital skills in preparation. Algorithms are the key to analysing big data on a scale unprecedented in human history, and will enable us to solve problems in all areas of human activity, from health to logistics to sanitation, transport and employment.

He stressed that educating the children of the world as digital citizens did not have to be expensive – and that digital education is particularly important for women, providing new opportunities to move beyond discrimination. “We need women. And we need collaboration,” he said.

This was a theme echoed by H. E. Dr. Siyabonga Cyprian Cwele, Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services, South Africa.. “It is tough to connect the unconnected if we are working alone – but we are not alone,” he said, emphasising the need for partnerships between government and global companies to find innovative ways of deploying connectivity.

Finding local use cases relevant to local contexts is crucial, developing compelling local content in local languages. Innovation and development go hand in hand, and are not limited by geography; creativity is not the reserve of Silicon Valley or any other single part of the world, noted Alierta.

Dr Amani Abou Zeid, commissioner for infrastructure and energy, African Union, highlighted the link between physical communications infrastructure and energy as a major issue throughout the African continent. Quoting the President of South Africa’s Opening Ceremony speech on Africa as the next big thing, she noted the rush to invest in the huge potential of the continent, welcoming not just foreign partners but the African private sector.

“Africa is a vast space with concentrations of population differing strongly from one region to the other, so cables and fibre optics can be difficult,” she said, calling for a hybrid approach to connectivity through drones, balloons, satellite and a mix of technologies to link those in rural areas. She also highlighted the need for tariffs and pricing in rural areas to be addressed urgently in order to close the gap in both internet penetration and usage.

We are leapfrogging to the future, and there is no going back, but harmonization across the continent is critical: “We cannot ask investors to come and have different regulation and policies over 55 counties, so in order to create economy of scale and attractive packages we have to have harmony in policies and regulations,” she stated.

Harmonization has an equally important role to play in cybersecurity, data protection and providing secure online spaces for our children, she added

Ms Elisabeth Medou Badang, CEO, SVP African & Indian Ocean, spokesperson for Middle East and Africa, Orange pointed out that the private sector also has a critical role to play in supporting start-ups and entrepreneurs, the driving force behind the digital ecosystem. It is the SMEs and local developers who are, after all, largely responsible for the local content and applications that will increase digital take-up in Africa and beyond.

“African problems need African solutions,” concurred Mr Rob Shuter, Group President and CEO, MTN Group, noting that rolling out national data networks in Europe, where countries are small, populations dense and basic national infrastructure is in place, is very much easier than in Africa, with its diverse markets and challenging geographies.

He pointed out that solar-powered base stations might well be nice-to-have sustainable options in Europe, but here in Africa they are critical: “We will not get large scale development in developing markets unless we take charge of our own destiny,” he said, mixing selected elements of what works elsewhere with Africa-specific, innovative new elements.

Regional and international collaboration and harmonization, digital education, and local applications, the panel agreed, are critical to connecting everyone. And it should start with governments, urged Minister Cwele, from training young people to be at the forefront of innovation, to increasing innovation budgets, and using the huge amount of data in government hands to drive data analytics and monetization. “Data for the digital economy is always local, and if we start with local companies to exploit the data, we will be able to move as a nation and continent together to exploit the digital economy so that people can benefit from it.”

From e health or innovative intellectual property to affordable logistics, citizen engagement, beekeeping and more, some of South Africa’s most innovative tech solutions were on display at the South African SME Pavilion.

Transforming lives of citizens was one key area. SK Innovations passenger information system provides cloud-based access to passenger details, invaluable for drivers and passengers, as well as generating crucial data on citizen’s use of public transportation and minibuses to help with planning in future. Helping citizens engage in cities across South Africa is Puleg, a software developer whose co-city mobile platform helps citizens engage, report incidents, track the progress of these incidents and get hold of vital contact info from city authorities. Fanaka provides crucial information on informal business enterprises to big businesses, helping empower entrepreneurs in townships and rural communities.

Helping boost South Africa’s honey industry was Beedale, whose smart beekeeping technology spans the full beekeeping cycle from pollination to monitoring the hive and honey production, helping local honey production onto a world stage. Also on show was Cattle Watch, a cattle herd management technology which monitors, counts and locates cattle herds, also using drones, delivering the data direct to phones or tablets.

Innovative healthcare solutions were on display, including Young doctors, a healthcare innovation from young doctors currently practicing in the public sector which redefines healthcare from a doctor’s perspective using technology to help the experience for doctors at work and also patients. WatIF health showcased their innovative solutions for cascading medical knowledge to community health workers to help upskill nurses.

Innovations transforming the future of education included Vernacme, an online vernacular school- the country’s first- teaching children their own vernacular languages -and the culture behind them- through interaction and games.  NEPTECH takes ICT infrastructure to rural or underprivileged primary and secondary schools, enabling children to benefit from computer aided educational software. Encouraging children’s creativity through books is the idea behind Balabooks, an innovative collaborative online platform where children are encouraged to create, write, publish and even sell their own books.

Transforming the culture of the workplace was Strata, showcasing their innovative solutions for work place leaders to transform the working lives and corporate mindsets of their employees as they journey along their career path. Tapping into the new “gig economy” of our future work environment was LinkPro, a software provider whose solution connects consultants with opportunities at the same time as creating an online community for consultants and SMEs.

These and more of the country’s vibrant SME sector are on show at the South African SME Pavilion, be sure to take the time to go and meet and discover more!

Welcoming participants to the joint Forum, the MC observed that broadband is changing the way we live, work, produce and even reproduce!  A chief in an African village was even more pleased that operators were providing him with connectivity, rather than water. Today, people can survive 24 hours without running water to their house, but they cannot survive half an hour without broadband!

In his Opening Remarks, Mr. Houlin Zhao, Secretary-General of the ITU, acknowledged the honour of participating in this Joint Forum. Digital technologies are changing our lives, economies and societies. This transformation holds huge potential to change people’s lives and achieve each and every one of the SDGs. He described the “4 Is” – infrastructure, investment, innovation and inclusivity.  According to Huawei, 20% increase in ICT infrastructure could result in a 1% growth in GDP. He announced the launch of the latest Commission “State of Broadband 2018” report. In some areas, Africa is left behind, but in other areas, Africa is getting ahead, e.g. mobile money.

H.E. Siyabonga Cwele, Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services of SouthAfrica, spoke about the deployment of telecom equipment in South Africa. Countries have developed broadband plans in earnest, and broadband is vital in moving countries to higher growth trajectories.. However, delivering high speeds consistently is complicated and costly and new technologies open up new domains of privilege and exclusion. Digital users are more than users, they are now content creators as much as they are content consumers. We need to empower people through ICTs; we need to foster digital inclusion, which can be achieved by providing basic access to communities, with a range of digital content, and providing digital literacy services; and providing programmes and services around key services. Many assumed that the rise of mobile broadband would spell the demise of fixed broadband – but the reality is more complicated. WiFi offload is actually giving fixed backhaul a more prominent role than many assumed.

Mr. Jianjun Zhou, Vice-President of Carrier BG, Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd, described the Huawei vision and mission to bring digital to every person, home and organization for a fully connected, intelligent world. Huawei has established a dedicated office for emerging markets with a business programme to connect the unconnected. According to Huawei, 3.4 billion are without Internet access, of which 830 million people live in Africa. Globally, there are 870 million people without mobile connection, of which 660 million are in Africa. Globally, there are 1.1 bn households without broadband connection, of which 242 million are in Africa. Challenges include lack of infrastructure, low levels of literacy and low population density and RoI. Broadband deployments are a shared social responsibility.

Mr. Edward Zhou, Vice-President of Global Public Affairs at Huawei, stated Huawei’s belief that investments in ICT infrastructure will significantly improve economic growth and society. Using data from 125 countries for 2010-6, there were good improvements in health and education. Government should act as an enabler to create a favourable policy environment. Competition is very important – some countries in fact have too many operators, which can damage the whole ecosystem; 2-4 operators is a healthy number of operators. He announced the official release of the Position Paper.

Dr. Mohamed Madkour, Vice-President of Wireless Networks Marketing & Solutions at Huawei, suggested we are talking about the hope of every African person to live safer, happier and wealthier lives. The hope of every country to eradicate poverty and grow their economy. We can talk about 5G and AI in Africa – this is the time to prepare for 5G. He described Huawei’s Rural Star solution for bringing wireless connectivity to rural areas. Dr. Madkour added intelligence as a fifth I to Mr. Zhao’s four Is.

H.E. Hon Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, Minister of Communications of Ghana, acknowledged that broadband cisa civic right. Kofi Annan stated that universal access is a key enabler for ending poverty. Ghana is working on a Digital Ghana Agenda and the USF Administrator, the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications to provide telephony, multimedia and broadcasting services. The growth in teledensity in urban areas is creating a new widening digital gap between urban and rural areas. There are almost 2,000 communities in Ghana without mobile signal. We intend to increase telephone subscribership to as many of our communities as possible. 100 communities have now been connected, where access was not previously available. This year alone, 80 sites have been completed, and we are on course to connect another 200 sites, with MTN and Huawei. Rural star was developed in Ghana and got them to work in partnership with GFIC and MTN to develop this solution. We will connect 200 sites in 2 years, rather than 117 sites in 8 years previously. Ghana has launched the Coding for Kids programme and trained 600 girls, and launched a National Digital Property Addressing system and e-ID programme to boost the formalization of our economy, andis  using blockchain for land registry. Ghana will take all necessary steps to ensure that every citizen can get access to the Internet and an inclusive society.

Mr. Rob Shuter, MTN Group President & CEO, described how MTN has a great passion (Y’ello) to bring more and more customers to the power of the Internet. MTN has 220 mn customers, but only 70 million are active data users >5MB/month. Five challenges need to be overcome: (1) coverage; (2) data-capable devices (basic handsets); (3) affordability; (4) service bundling; and (5) Education & ease of access – CHASE. 2G coverage is high – 90%+. Data coverage setting aside GPRS and EDGE, the snail-speed, 3G is only around 60% population coverage. He described the RURAL STAR programme, pioneered in Ghana, by Huawei with MTN.

Ms. Sonia Jorge, ED of the A4AI, discussed affordability issues. A4AI works to ensure that everyone has affordable access. The Internet is a public good and a basic right.

Ms. Gisa Fuatai Purcell, Acting Secretary-General of CTO,described the work of the CTO in 63 countries. She described the “As” of the digital age as: access; awareness; affordable; advocacy and assistive technology. Connectivity to the home has exactly the same issues and focus as other issues.

Mr. Joe Hironaka of UNESCOexpressed UNESCO’s appreciation of the work of the Broadband Commission and described UNESCO’s ROAM principles: Rights, Open, Accessibility and Multi-stakeholder. There is a new extractive industry with data, and we are building the most incredible social construct (the Internet).

Ms. Phillippa Biggs, Senior Policy Analyst at ITU and Coordinator of the Broadband Commission,described the “State of Broadband 2018” report and how 159 countries (80%) of countries have now introduced National Broadband Plans. Governments can take a number of steps to enhance access to broadband. Internet is definitely not free – consumers pay for Internet with their data, their clicks, attention and time. Governments must plan for some of the risks of the digital revolution, or they may end up promising youth jobs which simply don’t exist! She thanked the whole Huawei team for organizing the joint Forum.

Ms. Samia Melhem, Global Lead of Digital Development at the World Bank, described the importance of institutions. The key is the top-down policy and financing. The World Bank hopes that Africa will transform itself from paper-based public institutions which worked 100 years ago. If you look at the lower two slides, you will see a lot of coming together. Identity data is essential. The World Bank has a Digital Economy Strategy with different foundational elements – digital infrastructure, skills and usage.

Mr. Matthew Reed, Practice Leader of the Middle East & Africa at Ovum, described how operators are turning to fixed wireless access (FWA). He described the FWA opportunity in developing markets. Fibre networks take ten years to produce RoI (Payback period), but FWA takes five years. There is a growing number of use cases for FWA.

The 2018 report of the m-Powering Development Initiative was issued today at Telecom. This report sets out the great promise of mobile technology and communications that is now opening up to developing economies. Widespread ownership and use of the mobile phone can fast-track progress towards a digital age, transforming the daily lives of millions – especially impacting women, the poor and those in remote and rural areas – and igniting the growth of their economies for the benefit of all. The promise is very real – and importantly, as this report vividly demonstrates, it is within reach. The report constitutes a powerful, hands-on toolkit designed to help developing countries embrace this huge opportunity and step confidently onto the mobile technology highway – and to develop an inclusive digital economy from which all citizens will benefit.

The report is available here: https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Initiatives/m-Powering/Documents/Mpowering_Report_18-00029-v2.pdf​

Can AI tell us who to marry? What to learn at school? Can it have a consciousness? These are just some of the burning questions debated at today’s artificial intelligence: impact and ownership session, the first of the Smart ABC programme. Moderator Reinhard Scholl, Deputy Director, ITU’s Telecommunication Standardization Bureau (TSB) began discussions by sharing his own “wow” moment in AI terms capability- when a chess algorithm -with just 4 hours of learning- managed to beat the world-renowned Stockfish 8 chess engine. Panelists- who spanned industry, international organizations and academia- shared their own moments when the tremendous potential of AI truly struck them, from the realization that AI could be used to look at itself, to see if it is exhibiting bias, or its capacity to create deep brain images from things that have never been seen.

“AI is a technology that evokes strong responses (in us), some think robot killers, machines taking jobs while others think of the advances” explained Anne Carblanc, OECD’s Head of Division on Digital Economy Policy. AI certainly seems to be generating a lot of interest and activity, with investment banks, governments and venture capitalists all stepping up AI based R&D as well as acquisitions of high-growth potential AI SMEs. The US tops the global league in terms of AI expenditure, followed by China, the US and Japan, she explained, as well as UAE. Governments are planning for AI in specific areas, often transport, healthcare, environment or defense, as well as trying to attract top researchers into the field. International bodies such as OECD are carrying out high level work around AI, with an expert group to guide the design and implementation of AI.

For IEEs Andy Chen, VP, Professional & Educational Activities Board and Member of Board of Governors, preparation of the next generation for new technologies is key, a sentiment echoed by panelists and delegates alike. AI “isn’t just one technology,” and it is nothing without the data fueling it.

For Moira De Roche, Chairman, IFIP IP3, successful AI echoes chess prodigy Kasparov’s words “machine + human + process” but a strong process is needed, and this takes time. Taking the example of AI for learning, it took “at least a decade” for education to come to terms with e learning and even now, 20 years on, we are not necessarily using e learning for the best effect. AI’s potential as a learning tool is great “Everyone needs to embrace AI as a way of lifelong learning,” she explained. People need to decide what they need to learn and how they can embrace AI for this, and together with others learn to use it for their benefit.

On its own, AI is “just a data processing tool,” but the key question of what it’s going to do- good or bad-“that is a choice we will have to make.” Said Tshilidzi Marwala, Vice-Chancellor and Principal, University of Johannesburg. AI tries to replicate intelligence but there is more that it can’t reproduce, in terms of consciousness. For him, as others, it’s the future of work that is more of a concern. Education systems should not be too specialized, and enable a broad reach of subjects to be studied “We need to restructure the education system, people who do human and social sciences must also do technology.”

For IBM Master Inventor and World Wide Business Development Leader, Neil Sahota, it’s not just about the technology that could be in use in 10 years time, but also about its societal impacts. People may think that AI is the future, but it isn’t, it is here today. He outlined the idea of an AI ecosystem, as is currently being pioneered in countries such as China who are establishing AI towns, incubating AI start-ups and with universities to help pioneering into the digital age. Elsewhere, however, more awareness is needed “We need the skills, but we don’t even have the people to teach.”

AI Use scenarios

Whatsort of progress can narrow AI – AI to solve a specific problem- make in the future, can it make such progress in its area that it can do better than a human? Scholl asked panelists. There are certain tasks, especially those involving pattern recognition that lend themselves very well to AI. The panel debated whether AI could be better in scenarios such as communicating bad news to a hospital patient, as unlike a human, it could always be calm, never stressed. Can AI have empathy? asked Carblanc. AIs can adjust how they interact, developing “artificial empathy” pointed out Sahota. If you have the best doctor giving you news it could be better than AI, said De Roche, but if not, then a machine with time, and acquired facial expressions could potentially do a better job.

The question of AI and creativity was also discussed by the panel. Machines are for productivity, people for creativity, explained Sahota. But do we need to become more creative? It could be argued, said Scholl, that machines are already creative, they can already generate creative chess moves or musical compositions. This could depend on if or how our definition of creativity evolves, pointed out Sahota. If AI is limited to a single task, it could restrict its ability to be creative. Once AI has the ability to multitask it has the potential for exhibiting greater creativity.

What if you asked an algorithm who to marry? Asked Scholl. Does Google know us better than ourselves? What might the algorithm suggest that we do? For some delegates the evolution towards algorithms for online dating is only a natural progression from online dating sites currently in use. It’s actually a simple question for AI, said Marwala – one requiring multiple input yet with one single output answer. Yes or no. Although selecting a future partner via AI would certainly require accurate input data, pointed out Carblanc.

Wrapping up the session, Scholl asked the panel what advice they would give to their children about what skills would best equip them for the workplace of the future. Should we continue in classroom environments, studying subjects like geography and history?

For De Roche, key skills for the future will include critical and creative thinking. Marwala considers communications skills to be crucial, as well as creative skills. “Go and learn about people, societies and technology.” He urged.

Continue learning what we have been learning, said Carblanc. But the idea that being able to build an intelligent machine be the preserve of only a select few was something that she was not comfortable with. We need the basics for all, she explained.

“Are we willing to learn about innovative thinking, deeper levels of maths and history, or are we just going to choose to watch YouTube instead, as the machine knows the stuff for us?” challenged Sahota. People need to be encouraged onto a second path. For Andy Chen, the core elements we can learn is what our values are as humans, and to understand what we want to do. This is more important than just technology.

Moderator

Reinhard Scholl, Deputy Director, Telecommunication Standardization Bureau, International Telecommunication Union

Speakers

Anne Carblanc, Head of Division on Digital Economy Policy, OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development)
Andy Chen, VP, Professional & Educational Activities Board and Member of Board of Governors, IEEE Computer Society
Moira De Roche, Chairman, IFIP IP3
Tshilidzi Marwala, Vice-Chancellor and Principal, University of Johannesburg
Neil Sahota, IBM Master Inventor and World Wide Business Development Leader, IBM Watson Group, IBM