Categories
2021 Highlights September

Wired, wireless, worldwide: what’s next for networks

Wired, wireless, worldwide: what’s next for networks?

How can networks, the underlying infrastructure behind all connectivity, be developed and expanded to provide high quality, rich content and services at high speeds and with high reliability – whilst also being affordable to the 49% of the world that is still offline?

This was the question at the heart of the opening session of ITU Digital World 2021, which explored a range of technologies and solutions from fibre to satellite, fixed wireless, backhaul, 5G, automation in the network, infrastructure sharing and new regulatory approaches.

Welcoming participants to share their views on “the digital infrastructure and the future developments of networks, and the evolution towards a hyper-connected and super-smart society,” Phan Tam, Deputy Minister of Information and Communications for event co-host, Viet Nam, called for cooperation throughout the ICT industry to take advantage of new technologies and reach the underserved more quickly.

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the fundamental importance of ICTs, connectivity and “brought to life the value of the networks that might otherwise have been forgotten,” according to session moderator Vaishali Rastogi, Global Head, Technology, Media and Telecommunications at Boston Consulting Group. “If this pandemic had happened in 2000, only 0.2% of the workforce would have been able to work remotely. Less than 1% would have had real broadband connectivity. Networks have been the critical glue enabling us to work from home and drive education.”

Meeting the affordability challenge

With half of all households not having access to high speed connectivity, what technologies and solutions are needed to drive more digital inclusion – and more affordable connectivity?

From the perspective of Africa, where 30% of the continent is unconnected, Jocelyn Karakula, CTIO, Orange Middle East and Africa, highlighted two key factors: corporate social responsibility (CSR) engagement, and energy efficient technologies, including better batteries, adapting solar panels, and the use of AI algorithms to predict energy demands and better manage power systems. Technologies such as Open RAN (radio access network) offering remote deployment can be very promising in remote and rural regions provided the challenges of cost effectiveness and energy efficiency are met.

Improving backhaul capabilities to meet the need for capacity is key, combining low band microwave backhaul and the use of low earth orbit (LEO) satellites. Full integrators who understand the landscape – both in the industry and geographically – will have a critical role to play in bringing in different technologies to increase capacity in difficult terrains and enable sustainable digital inclusion.

“AI will be key: we cannot manage on a legacy mode such complex and enhanced modern networks,” he said, pointing out that in Africa, the challenge will be continuing to live with four generations of mobile tech – with individual spectrum requirements and investment costs – in parallel.  4G and 5G will develop slowly as long as smart phones remain unaffordable for low income populations, he added: “Technology will enable lower prices in production and manufacturing in order to promote and develop this penetration rate, and have very significant impact on connectivity.”

Wireless, fibre and satellite alternatives

For Mikael Rylander, Technology Leadership Officer at Nokia, fibre to the home (FTTH) is the broadband technology of choice where high speed and massive coverage are required. It is future-proof, delivering speeds of 10 and 25 gigabits per second and now moving towards 50 or even 100. It has low opex, very low power consumption and can be used for residential and enterprise customers, but also for 5G small cell sites, functioning as a stepping stone for other technologies. Operators can also continue to “squeeze copper” with new technology, but the majority of telocs have FTTH at the heart of their strategies and it is the mainstream technology for broadband in developing markets.

Will the next generation of fibre networks bring new business models enabling fibre to move beyond urban or developed areas?  According to Rylander, even in traditional markets, “New business ideas are emerging around the sharing economy, which could potentially lower the barrier for investment, as investment could be shared and applied for pieces of the network.”

Neha Satak, Chief Executive Officer at Astrome, stated that “Wireless is the way to go to close the gap faster…in developed and developing countries, the majority of areas which are unconnected are still within 15 kilometres of a place where fibre is available.” Using both millimetre wave wireless backhaul and unlicenced backhaul can balance out throughput and distance.  WiFi mesh solutions offer robust and affordable networks through the combination of low and high frequency wireless technologies.

Satellites have long been a cost-effective way to reach places and people terrestrial networks cannot, but the current dramatic evolution in technology in both space and ground segments is increasing use cases. Aarti Holla-Maini, Secretary General, EMEA Satellite Operators Association, highlighted the role of satellites in providing backhaul, community WiFi solutions and 5G backhaul, with terrestrial operators investing more and more in satellites in response to the need for seamless connectivity experiences across many 5G verticals.

“Evolution in technology and work on standards will make it much easier to integrate satellite into the network of networks. The legacy divisions between mobile, fixed and satellite are dissolving. The optimum solution for future connectivity lies in a combination of technologies pooling different strengths to collectively deliver higher resilience and greater availability for many more users”, she said.

Satak agreed that the satellite industry is poised to become a part of the technologies portfolio, with telcos venturing into space directly or indirectly in developed and developing countries alike. The current price of broadband plans does not make it an affordable option in many emerging markets, with innovation in LEOs key to bringing down costs.

Fixed wireless access can be a valuable addition to driving digital inclusion, added Rylander. It is principally deployed to cope with capacity demand where there is no fibre in urban areas, but is increasingly being tested with millimetre waves in rural areas as technology progresses.

Automation in the network

For Miro Salem, Global Head of AI and Autonomous Networks, Rakuten Mobile, Inc., if we want to solve the challenge (and opportunity) of digital inclusion through automation in the networks, we can – “but ultimately we live in world driven by economics. Autonomous networks create the economics for us to be able to solve these problems in areas where we could not have done this before. So the fundamental shift to happen is the economics by which networks operate.” By changing the design principles upon which we build autonomous networks, we can significantly reduce the cost of wireless network access and share the privilege of connectivity more fairly: “If you change the economics, you get automation, autonomous networks and solutions – and you get everybody the access we all have.”

Specialized hardware in the network is a thing of the past as commodity servers take over even the most traditional legacy functions, agreed Konstantinos Masselos, President, Hellenic Telecommunications & Post Commission. Network function virtualization is removing the high cost and complex infrastructure installation which have traditionally been the main barriers to newcomers in the industry. The accelerating softwarization trend will bring competition – and put pressure on telcos resisting lean operational models, unable or unwilling to adapt.

“Our next generation networks require dense and heavy fibre deployment, but this can be offset by careful resource sharing and planning together with lowering the cost of core network operations as they become a software defined commodity. It is not easy for the industry to move from one paradigm to another, but telecom operators will adapt to the new software-oriented model,” over time he added.

Choosing your tools: a portfolio of complementary technologies

No one single solution or approach, the panel agreed, will solve the challenge of increasing access. In the words of Salem, “It is about using the right tool or combination of tools in the right place to solve a problem. All tools have advantages and disadvantages – what is important is deciding which tool to use where within this portfolio.” Increasing convergence between technologies increases capacity, but adds complexity, he pointed out.

There will always be a trade-off between cost of maintenance, speed, scalability, latency, time to install, customer equipment costs and ensuring the solution is future-proof. No single technical solution is good enough to apply in any given case or country. “High quality and affordable connectivity needs hybrid technology solutions,” said Masselos, taking in account special features of each area such as geography, seasonality and population distribution, and using the right mixture of technology to optimize deployment and maintenance costs – and therefore affordability.

Key technologies include FTTH for high speed, reliability, and low energy consumption solutions in densely populated areas; fixed wireless access for 5G and easier deployment to suburban and rural areas; and LEO and other satellites with low latency as a good option for rural areas – and increasingly beyond. Fibre is essential for all of these technologies – and for 5G mobile networks, too.

5G business cases

But where are the 5G business cases? For Rylander, markets in Western Europe, Asia and the USA are making progress driven by new partnerships with enterprise firms to rescale organizations and establish how to infuse 5G into the B2B environment. The new operating system and architecture will enable provisioning and performance innovation at scale not seen before. Current use cases include mobility, manufacturing and remote maintenance (particularly valuable during the height of the pandemic where travel was severely curtailed), with real, tangible revenue opportunities emerging in arenas such as university campuses, smart factories, robotics, air- and seaports.

Reconsidering regulatory approaches

Masselos pointed out that we have not yet seen the full potential of 5G, which will continue to evolve towards 5.5G with even higher speeds, lower latencies and increased reliability. The integration of AI and 5G will take use from the internet of everything to the intelligent internet of everything – and our priorities should include ensuring high quality human capacity, IP and a supportive regulatory environment to develop business models and innovation as 6G research begins.

In Africa, Orange’s Karakula reminded the panel, “We are facing a capex wall with massive investment in 4G which must be compatible with 5G and with the cost of 5G licences to manage in parallel with no revenue. Network sharing will be a must.” He called for regulators to champion network and spectrum sharing rather than seeing it as decrease in competition or potential loss of revenue. Multiple technologies must be allowed to co-exist within long term spectrum provisions; regulators should also allow for open access to international cables to allow for high capacity broadband provision, in particular in landlocked countries.

Autonomous networks can dramatically reduce the requirements for skill sets locally and help close the digital divide. Automation already brings additional capacity to existing networks, but for Salem, “the transformation we will see in the world will come from autonomous networks. We have bridged the gap between data, AI and autonomous networks, and there is incredible potential for what networks can be capable of once we implement evolutional algorithms.” The big transformation happening in software is the future of all networks.

Summing up the session, ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao welcomed the focus on the complementary combination of technologies and resource sharing, and in particular on the affordability of connectivity. He stressed the need for better use of existing capacity, including network sharing, satellites and submarine cables, as well as making full use of legacy investments in earlier generation fixed and mobile networks. Asking “How can we use current existing capacities to to offer services whilst still encouraging investment to extend this infrastructure and connect those not yet connected?” he called for IoT solutions and applications from SMEs in particular to drive network usage and provide revenue, as well as a balance of resource sharing and competition amongst operators.  The pandemic has highlighted the need for more broadband capacity in developed countries as well as developing markets; the challenge remains an economic one. Investment in new technology and improved infrastructure is paramount to the growth of the connected world.

 

Categories
Blog

Satellites and switching: Telecom in the 1970s

When the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) opened World TELECOM 1971 in Geneva 50 years ago, officials proclaimed the dazzling new conference and exhibition a “message to the 21st century.”

“All those who had the opportunity to visit the various stands were able to appreciate the fundamental role played by ITU in the spectacular evolution of telecoms techniques and in the rapid expansion of the world,” observed the ITU Secretary-General of the time, Mohamed E. Mili.

The event launched a global platform for leading industry players, ITU members from the public and private sectors, international organizations, and academia to meet and greet, showcase innovation, and share knowledge.

Inauguration of Telecom 1971: Mohamed E. Mili, Secretary-General of ITU (left) with Robert Galley, France’s Minister of Posts and Telecommunications (right)

Inauguration of Telecom 1971: Mohamed E. Mili, Secretary-General of ITU (left) with Robert Galley, France’s Minister of Posts and Telecommunications (right). Image credit: ITU.

 

Fifty years later, the now annual series achieves the same goals.

But much, of course, has changed.

18 cities around the world have hosted Telecom over the years, with several acting as hosts more than once.

The event changed format and name several times to meet the evolving needs of the industry. And for the past two editions, it has moved online in response to the global pandemic.

More substantially, people’s access to communications technology has blossomed, the structure of the industry and role of governments is radically different, and the technologies themselves are evolving faster than ever before.

The landscape then

Back in the 1970s, the telecommunication landscape was all about sending the voice over a fixed infrastructure, which was run by national operators out of government departments.

The cutting-edge technology exhibited at the very first Telecom included switching and transmission equipment, audio-visual equipment, and high-capacity submarine cables, along with wave guides and radio relays, data transmission equipment and a new generation of computers.

An impressive videophone demonstration included the ambitious prediction that at least 150 million such devices would be in use by the year 2000.

Satellites had already become a key part of public telecommunications, research, and television broadcasting services. The importance of satellite communications to reach remote and rural communities, no matter how challenging the terrain, would become increasingly clear over the decade.

By 1974, space radiocommunications systems were helping communities hit by natural disasters, keeping channels open with support centres and aiding the flow of emergency relief.

World TELECOM 1979 heralded a major technical breakthrough: electronic telephone switching.

System X, the result of industry-wide collaboration, made its public debut as an electronic system integrating telephone switching and transmission. The system allowed for the additional use of advanced electronic modules, which could expand the basic exchange into a highly sophisticated network operator. By replacing electro-mechanical switching systems with computers, System X provided the basis for a modern, flexible telecom system.

A force for growth

After the success of the 1971 inaugural event, ITUs Member States opted to carry on with Telecom on a regular basis – initially every four years – to gather “all the members of the great family of telecommunications,” in the words of Mr Mili.

Linking countries and companies would stimulate international trade, allow for the exchange of ideas and knowledge, and help to bridge the development gap, he said.

Telecommunications in the 1970s represented progress and a force for social, economic and cultural growth that could be applied universally for the benefit of all.

ITU Telecom continues to uphold those aims today.

 

In this new series of blogs marking the 50th anniversary of ITU Telecom, we look back at five decades of change for the industry, ITU and the flagship conference and exhibition series. The next episode revisits the 1980s and the dawn of mobile and e-mail.

Find out more on the 50th anniversary of ITU Telecom events – and on this year’s edition, ITU Digital World 2021, taking place online from September to December.

Header image from Telecom 1971: Telephone sets from the International Telephone and Telegraph (ITT) Corporation. Image credit: ITU

This blog was originally published on ITU News.

Categories
Blog

ITU Telecom celebrates its 50th anniversary

One of the key annual events of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has just turned 50. ITU Telecom has evolved over the years to reflect a rapidly evolving industry ecosystem. But international cooperation to connect the world remains at the core of the conference and exhibition series.

The first-ever Telecom, featuring a high-level conference combined with a major international telecommunications exhibition, happened in June 1971.

World TELECOM 71, as it was called, launched a regular series of key global gatherings of the ITU family. Governments, industry, academia and international organizations came together to trade insights, showcase and share technological innovations, exchange knowledge – and work together to ensure everyone, everywhere could benefit from technology’s enormous potential.

The past half century has seen rapid advances in telecommunications, including the emergence of unprecedented technologies, sector-wide privatization, and new facets of regulation. New markets, competitors, and partnerships have made the industry, along with the world of ITU, look very different today than they did in the early 1970s.

The key areas of ITU’s work back then, as the name of the event implies, were telephony and telecommunications. Telecom’s focus has since shifted, in line with the industry, to information and communication technologies (ICTs), reflecting the irreversible convergence of two separate sectors. Digital technologies and services are now at the forefront, with the annual Telecom event provisionally rebranded since last year as ITU Digital World.

But even as ITU’s membership has diversified and the scope of Telecom events has broadened, much has stayed the same.

Enduring engagement

The people who come together through ITU – in all its initiatives, study groups, focus groups, conferences, and events – represent every part of what is known as the industry ecosystem: government, regulatory bodies, academia, international organizations, private sector companies (from multinational corporates to small and medium enterprises) and media. They are still truly global, drawn from all 193 member states. They still span industry sectors, from satellite to mobile, broadcasting to broadband, fintech to smart cities, artificial intelligence and beyond.

Through the second decade of the 21st century, ITU Telecom events have continued to engage on key industry issues, including connecting the unconnected and narrowing the digital divide. Today, as in 1971, this means sharing knowledge and resources, exhibiting innovative technologies, projects and products, and networking across private and public sectors.

What connecting the unconnected means in practice has arguably changed over the years. It is no longer just about ensuring affordable devices and access, along with infrastructure and coverage worldwide – whether in the form of telephony, satellite services, mobile telephony, or even broadband Internet.

Nowadays, it is increasingly about fostering digital skills and awareness, driving demand through relevant content and services, and providing vital information and updates in local languages.

Bringing these benefits to underserved people and communities depends on cooperation and collaboration, cross-sectoral and cross-border partnerships – to meet the challenges and explore the opportunities of an industry upon which the world now relies more than ever.

telecom 50 years

Interactive exhibits in 1979


A platform for innovation

Throughout the years, Telecom has provided a platform for innovations on display in its renowned world-class exhibition to the policies, strategies and technologies shaping the industry.

Important topics echo down the decades: the incredible potential of exponential technological growth; bridging the digital divide to leave no one behind; the role of regulators in balancing industry competition and consumer needs; the influence – both positive and negative – of ICTs on our environment and climate; the importance of empowering women and girls, youth, persons with disabilities and the marginalized throughout the world; the critical need for skills, training and expert personnel; the social and cultural impact of technology; the interplay and partnerships between public and private sectors; rights and responsibilities in a global, networked world where no country, industry or organization can act alone.

Annual Telecom events continue to provide a window on the increasingly complex world of ICTs. Another 50 years from now, technology may well have reshaped our societies and economies beyond imagination. As the world and the industry keep changing, however, ITU remains committed to improving lives everywhere through technology.

Explore the history of ITU Telecom on the 50th anniversary page.

Find out more on this year’s ITU Digital World 2021. And follow our blog series looking back at the highlights of ITU Telecom over the decades

Photo credit: ITU

Top image shows delegates connecting at Telecom ’71
This blog was originally published on ITU News.
Categories
Blog

Greening the Blue – and ITU

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are crucial building blocks for a greener and more sustainable, connected world.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations agency for ICTs, is at the forefront of this transformation, cultivating global cooperation in fields ranging from smart cities and Earth observation to tackling natural disaster risks, e-waste, and energy consumption.

In addition to raising awareness, ITU has made its own operations effectively climate neutral in recent years, aiming to maximize efficiency and reduce the environmental footprint of its own buildings, for instance.

A new methodology should help to assess and improve the sustainability of office buildings in ten key areas: energy, water, air, comfort, health and wellness, purchasing, custodial, waste, site, and stakeholder relations.

Sustainable events

Much of what the organization does, however, involves bringing people together, either at traditional conferences or, increasingly, via online events.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made virtual meetings almost the only channel for engagement with member countries, companies, and organizations over the past year. Some of the practices born out of lockdown adaptation have prompted rethinking how we work and travel, with a view to meeting ambitious emissions reduction targets for the UN system by 2030.

Still, international activities and operations produce emissions. ITU aims to keep its carbon footprint in check.

Climate science has made the situation clear: we all must do more.

ITU has recently introduced an Environmental Management System (EMS) to integrate sustainability in all operations and continually improve environmental performance.

The organization is also stepping up long-standing greening initiatives such as digitizing paper processes, server virtualization, holding meetings virtually and strengthening remote participation capabilities. Restrictions prompted by the pandemic have also accelerated the move to the cloud to ensure service reliability and accessibility from anywhere.

The EMS initiative forms part of the broader UN sustainability strategy.

ITU has been effectively climate neutral since 2015, offsetting residual operational emissions through Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) within the Clean Development Mechanism.

Annual Greening the Blue Reports detail the whole UN System’s environmental footprint and efforts to reduce it. The latest edition also provides UN system-wide data on the environmental impact areas identified in the UN Sustainability Strategy 2020-2030, Phase I: Environmental Sustainability in the Area of Management.

Sustainability centre stage

The last ITU Telecom World event, held in Budapest, Hungary, in 2019, put environmental sustainability at centre stage.

The host country and the venue, Hungexpo, committed to ITU’s greening aim, and sustainability criteria were included into the evaluation process for prospective event contractors. A “Greening our event” webpage kept delegates and exhibitors up to speed on environmental initiatives, while the online exhibitor and sponsor manual offered practical advice on how to reduce individual and company footprints.

Various greening measures were implemented onsite, from providing speakers with jugs of tap water rather than individual plastic bottles to replacing cut flowers with potted plants and edible decoration in networking and lounge areas.

After the event, leftover lanyards were given to Parafitt, a Hungarian NGO working with young people with disabilities, who upcycled them into handles for small purses.

ITU upcycled lanyard

Notably, the venue agreed to measure waste and energy consumption to provide a baseline for future ITU events. Participants also provided information on how they travelled to the conference.

Closer to climate neutrality

The next ITU Telecom event, ITU Digital World 2021, aims to get closer to climate neutrality. Virtual elements, including SME Awards and Forum sessions, will enable greater global participation, keep all involved safe – and dramatically reduce the carbon footprint inherent in a major international meeting.

Supporting the event is Sustainability Partner Immersion4, winner of the ITU Telecom World Global SME Excellence Award and the ITU Telecom World SME Award for the Most Innovative Use of ICT in 2019 with its innovative new cooling solution for data centres, which enables waste heat to be reused as an energy source.

“The eco conversation is the way to enhance our quality of life, to enhance progress, to connect people, but not at the cost of our own lives,” says Immersion4 Founder and CEO Serge Conesa.

“This is just the beginning of a long journey we have ahead, but it has started well. People here at ITU understand the problems and really want to make a difference.”

 As a basic principle, all emissions must be cut as much as possible before an event or activity or while offsetting the unavoidable remainder. UN-backed CERs are available via the UN Carbon Offset Platform and the Climate Neutral Now initiative by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat, providing recognition to all those striving to measure, reduce and compensate their emissions.

Proposed activities for the next event can be found on the Greening ITU Digital World page.

ITU’s broad membership – encompassing 193 Member States and over 900 companies, universities, international and regional organizations – drives public private partnerships and collaboration, within and across sectors. This unique forum, spanning digital and sustainability issues, can help to shape critical mechanisms for future ecosystem conservation, as well as for tackling the complexities of climate change.

This blog was originally published on ITU News.

 

Categories
Blog

Appy Saude: The Angolan e-health start-up unlocking accessible healthcare

Searching unsuccessfully for a specific medicine prescribed by his doctors, a very sick man living in rural Angola listened by chance to a radio interview with Appy Saude, an e-health start-up based in the capital city of Luanda. He contacted Appy, who promptly sourced the very last units available on the Angolan market of the drug he so desperately needed – saving him time, money and even his life.

This is one of many success stories highlighting the major change in access to healthcare information and services offered by Appy Saude, winners of the ITU Virtual Digital World 2020 SME Awards in the e-health category. It is also demonstrates the company’s founding principle: to connect as many people as possible to the healthcare professionals, medicine and knowhow they need using available digital tools.

In this case, that tool was a simple phone call: the ill man did not own a smartphone. But most Appy Saude users access their services through an online portal listing pharmacies, pharmaceutical products and prices, healthcare facilities, doctors, accepted insurance policies and appointment scheduling.

“We are trying to improve accessibility to healthcare services using the digital tools we have available today.“
– Pedro Beirão, co-founder and CEO, Appy Saude

“’Saude’ means health in Portuguese,” explained Pedro Beirão, co-founder and CEO of the three-year old platform, outlining how the start-up began. “We identified a major need to put information on health establishments online – instead of people having to walk around to find a pharmacy or hospital or clinic. We think having information available to everyone makes society more just, allowing people to make better decisions: the final user, the patient, but also hospitals, pharmacies and decision-makers in the healthcare sector.”

Democratizing access to health information

Creating a directory of hundreds of pharmacies online was just step one. Appy then added online access to pharmacy stock listings, enabling price comparison across a sometimes-volatile market, where the same product could be offered at double – or half – the price in neighbouring pharmacies. The platform also allows medicines to be purchased online and picked up in-store or delivered at home; lists doctors and clinics; and provides an online appointment booking system.

Appy Saude home delivery e-health

“Just the fact of placing the information on one platform and allowing people to choose helps the market to readjust and reduce the inequalities in terms of pricing and availability,” noted Beirão. This kind of market disruption naturally led to resistance from established pharmaceutical players, but convincing just one major player of the value of providing wider access to their products was enough.

Concerned that the platform was defining market costs, and keen to share increased visibility and consumer engagement, the other pharmacies quickly came on board, too.

“Today, people are more used to having information to make better decisions,” said Beirão. “There is no stopping the future: we are just trying to enable it.“

New markets, new partners

Appy is taking its model of information transparency in the healthcare sector international, with operations up and running in Rwanda, and Kenya within its sights. Both these markets are less heavily regulated than Angola, where stringent healthcare legislation has proved challenging. For instance, some products are not authorized for home delivery, and showing images of prescription products is not allowed.

Beirão believes that the lessons learned from this difficult environment will make international expansion easier. Strategic alliances with mobile operators, based on the successful partnership Appy has established with Angolan market leader Unitel, will be key to future success, according to Beirão.

“Working with Unitel, it was an open discussion where we identified our common aim: to reach more people and allow them better information on health,” he highlighted.

“In terms of expansion, we see mobile operators as an important part of our growth, and of the digitization of health services. They have coverage everywhere, they are looking for solutions that people can use to access healthcare or other digital services, and they can help collect data on pharmacies and doctors on our open platform.” And the mobile operator stands to gain more subscribers and visibility in a win-win partnership.

Appy is also planning new products to add to its portfolio. These include a tool to codify the different names under which the same pharmaceutical products are sold, a problem affecting up to 15 per cent of all products in Angola, said Beirão. Doctors often prescribe medicine under the market name used in Brazil, Portugal or Cuba, where many Angolan medical professionals completed their training. Identifying the correct local name for the same product is expected to be much easier with Appy’s database for patients, and its planned electronic prescription system for doctors.

Expansion is not just international, however. Some 35 per cent of Angola’s population of 30 million lives in Luanda, where around 60 per cent of all pharmaceutical markets and medical appointments are concentrated. Moving beyond the well-connected urban centre to rural areas means addressing different market segments  – and developing new ways to connect people to information. Smartphone penetration is typically much lower in rural areas, so Appy needs to find alternative solutions to making reservations via the mobile app, website or WhatsApp. Initial ideas are focused on USSD or SMS services, taking advantage of their agreement with partner Unitel, who do not charge customers airtime for using Appy’s service over their network.

As a start-up, Appy is also working to align itself with more established partners, including the Angolan Ministry of Health, companies, and NGOs working for social impact through healthcare.

This is the main benefit of winning the ITU Virtual Digital SME Award, according to Beirão: finding partnerships that help their solution to grow, become sustainable, and maximize its impact.

“Our vision is to connect everyone to our health service, which is what most NGOs and governments are working for – so let’s find a way of actually doing it in partnerships in Angola and in other countries, too,“ he concluded.

Appy Saude are hoping to join ITU Digital World 2021 in Hanoi, Viet Nam, to share more stories and good practices, increase their visibility, and build on their relationships with mobile operators, NGOs and the broader UN network.


The ITU Digital World Awards 2021 will launch in March 2021 – find out more here.

 Image credit: Appy Saude

This blog was originally published on ITU News.

Categories
Blog

Meet OKO Finance: Building climate resilience through digital financial inclusion in Africa

Israeli start-up OKO Finance have a clear objective: to be known and trusted by smallholder farmers across Africa as the market leader in crop insurance, to protect farmers from loss of income due to adverse weather and to provide access to financial tools.

And by winning the ITU Virtual Digital World 2020 SME Awards, the fledgling fintech is one step closer to meeting its goal.

The Awards focus on the innovative use of digital technology for social impact. OKO creates and distributes crop insurance to smallholder farmers in emerging markets using simple mobile technologies and automates claim verification with satellite data and images. The company‘s success, according to CEO Simon Schwall, lies in adapting existing basic mobile capacity to the specific customer environment rather than in advanced technological innovation.

“There is nothing revolutionary here, but we use a different set of tools to make our product as inclusive as possible.“ -Simon Schwall, OKO Finance

Chatbot innovation

Payments are collected through mobile money accounts, embedded in most African networks, meaning that even those without smart phones can take part. Communication with customers who may be illiterate, or uncomfortable writing in local languages, happens through a voice messaging service and a newly-launched WhatsApp chatbot, as well as automated text messages.

“We saw that our customers who have WhatsApp don‘t chat with text messages, but prefer to exchange voice notes, because it is easier,“ explained Schwall. “So we created a voice note chatbot so people who cannot read or write can still listen to information, respond by choosing an option and then navigate through a menu to access more information and register for insurance.“

Finding a customer journey to match levels of literacy and digital skills on the ground in Mali, where OKO started out, was a process of trial and error. Case studies and best practice from other markets could not simply be replicated – a Facebook campaign to recruit new customers, for example, would fall flat as the platform is little used and largely irrelevant for this target group, said Schwall. An initial SMS chatbot, asking a series of questions by voice or text to establish basic criteria to build an insurance quote, such as where a potential customer lives or what crops they grow, also failed miserably.

“Many customers couldn’t read or are not confident [reading], so they didn’t want to use it,“ explained Schwall. “And the people who used it saw there were many steps, with an SMS to pay each time, so it started to become too expensive.“ OKO learnt that all good ideas in theory need to be tested in reality at small scale in the context of local markets – even if it means starting from scratch.

Financial inclusion and climate resilience

The impact of its crop insurance business model is two-fold. By providing insurance to people who have never previously been served by financial institutions, OKO is not only reducing farmers‘ risk of losing income when bad weather hits, but also providing much-needed access to microcredit to buy seeds or fertilizer and grow businesses.

Financial inclusion is accompanied by climate resilience. As seasons become ever more unpredictable, and weather events intensify in many parts of the world, crop insurance can stabilize farmers‘ income streams and better equip them to face the effects of climate change.

“We have a solution that makes people who are vulnerable to climate change (and to climate risk in general) more resilient,” noted Schwall, “while bringing compensation for lost income.“

Scaling up across Africa

In the short term, OKO is planning the second full season of insurance in Mali, aiming for 30,000 paying customers, covering more crops and more regions. Full-scale commercial services are scheduled to launch across Uganda throughout 2021, following a series of successful pilots. Beyond geographical expansion, the fintech hopes to establish itself as a bigger player in the microfinance space. And as smartphone usage and network bandwidth increase across the content, OKO intends to provide new services such as weather alerts, agricultural advice, or market information.

“Our goal is to be the leading service for crop insurance in Africa,” affirmed Schwall.

Scaling up calls for new partners and investors – and winning awards is an important opportunity to gain credibility here. OKO have some experience with this, having won first place in the AFI Alliance competition for financial inclusion in 2019.

Now Schwall hopes the telecommunications sector will also be on board: “Winning the ITU Digital World SME Award will be reassuring to mobile operators we want to partner with and investors who sometimes doubt our capacity to find key partners to allow us to scale. It will also make us more credible when we go and talk to other UN organizations we would like to work with, such as UN Women, UNDP or UNDCF.”

Schwall notes that the presence of start-ups from other countries can act as a catalyst, transferring technology and services: “In some cases companies come from eastern Africa to western Africa, or the other way round, so countries need to be open to bringing innovations from abroad, replicating the benefits of good practices and services. This will eventually lead to more people launching their own businesses, more people being trained, more jobs in the ecosystem.”

Overcoming challenges

OKO Finance sees the major challenges to increasing access to digital services in Africa as connectivity, cost, and digital literacy. The majority of the company’s customer base also suffer from basic illiteracy, a further cause of exclusion and marginalization. Schwall suggests governments and industry work together to develop basic networks for rural areas providing essential services at low or no cost, re-examining taxation policies on over-the-top services such as WhatsApp, and even exploring whether privacy policies should be considered only after meaningful connectivity has been established.

Schwall is also keen for international organizations to provide standards or open APIs across multiple markets so that companies such as OKO can scale up without having to redesign customer journeys or sign new local partnerships in each new market. This would also make it easier for innovations from bigger markets, such as Kenya or Nigeria, to be launched in smaller neighbouring countries, he said.

This year’s competition, the ITU Digital World Awards 2021, will launch in March, and are open to any start-ups or SMEs using technology innovatively with real social impact – like OKO Finance.

Image credit: Shehzad Lokhandwalla via OKO Finance

 

This blog was originally published on ITU News.

Categories
Blog

Meet Astrome: The deep tech start-up aiming to bridge India’s digital divide

BENGALURU, KARNATAKA, INDIA. Dr Neha Satak (left), known as a pocket dynamo, promoter for Astrome Technologies Private Limited working to fabricate Indias first private sector satellite capable of delivering Internet from space. Magnificent Indian women, who play with what were till recently toys for big boys! Breaking the glass ceiling, Indian women are making a mark in space exploration. Indian women scientists and Engineers are making an immense mark as they help the country fly its rockets, missiles and help fabricate satellites. One third of the work force at the Indian Space Research Organisation comprises of women and ladies are breaking the glass ceiling and reaching leadership positions. India’s mission to Mars, Moon and the first Indian inter-continental ballistic missile all had women contributing in a big way, breaking the prevailing stereotype. A special collection of photos celebrating women power in Indian science and technology. (Photo by Pallava Bagla/Corbis via Getty Images)

India-based deep tech start-up Astrome sees its innovative wireless solution as a way to connect the country’s rural and semi-urban areas.

Its use of millimetre wave wireless communication to provide fibre-like backhaul capacity for 4G and 5G infrastructure has won Astrome the SME Award in the Connectivity category at ITU Virtual Digital World, the 2020 online edition of leading UN tech event ITU Digital World.

“We help telecom operators and governments bridge the digital divide by enabling them to deploy quality telecom infrastructure in rural and semi-urban areas at five times lower cost than fibre and an order of magnitude lower time of deployment,” said co-founder and CEO Dr Neha Satak, in a conversation with ITU News.

Delivering last-mile connectivity

Astrome’s first product is a multi-beam E-band radio called GigaMesh. By packing six point-to-point E-band radios in one, the cost of the device is distributed over multiple links.

Astrome believes in Gigamesh’s potential to decongest dense urban networks and rapidly deploy 5G by extending broadband coverage in rural areas.

In India, government initiatives have been working towards bringing connectivity to villages around the country, notes Satak.

“But the last mile of connectivity from a grama panchayat [village council] to a village is typically a distance of between 3 to 7 kilometres depending on the state. And that last mile is key to getting  connectivity delivered to the villages,” she added.

To bridge the digital divide and unlock economic potential, Satak pointed out the importance of linking up village councils that are difficult to connect, while also connecting them by a backbone “which can be deployed in a matter of days, compared to the years fibre takes to get deployed.” According to Satak, “That’s where we believe we can play a major role in getting rural India fully connected.”

From satellite to the field

Astrome was not founded with the mission to connect rural India. They began as a company that wanted to build wireless technologies for the satellite communication domain. Their multibeam technology for low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites to deliver 10 times more capacity on the ground aimed to bridge digital divide using satellites.

“Along the way, we realized that the technology can be much more effective today if we use it to bridge the last mile connectivity [gap] on the ground infrastructure itself. That’s how we took a pivotal decision in our journey about three years ago,” explains Satak. “[Gigamesh] can do the job of fibre but at one-fifth the cost. And it can be deployed in hours between two locations compared to the months it takes to deploy fibre.”

Astrome is working towards overcoming regulatory barriers, added Satak. “The frequencies in which we operate will be opened up soon in India. There is some delay in that, but we are hoping that it will happen this year. The path we have taken is talking to the regulators,” she explained. The company has also shared their readiness to provide solutions with the government, and these have been received favourably, according to Satak.

Astrome is also looking into entering markets where the frequencies in which they operate are open already. Satak and her team intend to keep their original ambition intact.

Astrome’s vision is to enable high-bandwidth, low-cost connectivity across land, air and sea by building terrestrial wireless and satellite communications products.

“Our ultimate goal is also to build satellite communication payloads and user ground terminals that can help make LEO constellations as effective as fibre in terms of cost,” said Satak.

Building credibility and trust in deep tech

Satak credits her team’s positive attitude towards problem solving for their success in creating an innovative deep tech solution. “If you think: ‘I can solve it,’ there’s always a way,” she said.
But what made the project stand out in a competitive, global field at the ITU Digital World SME Awards?

“We believe that we have won because our product can truly help telecom operators and governments deploy quality rural telecom infrastructure at record cost and time. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of rural connectivity and action to bridge the digital divide has [quickened] due to it,” Satak noted. “There is an opportunity for the world to move to a better telecom infrastructure in a short period of time,” she added.

For Satak, the best part of the Awards was “the opportunity to present our solution to a diverse set of judges and audience”.

“This award is a strong validation that our technology and product is desired all around the world to bridge the digital divide,” explained Satak. “It gives [Astrome] encouragement to scale our business and reach its maximum potential. We are already using the award in our customer conversations to build credibility and trust,” she added.

It’s a key benefit enjoyed by many Award winners over the six years of the programme at ITU Telecom events.

Satak’s message for applicants this year? “Make the most of this fantastic opportunity to be on a world stage by submitting a good application.”

The SME programme at ITU Digital World 2021, scheduled to take place in Ha Noi from 12 to 15 October 2021, will provide support, visibility, investment and networking potential to tech SMEs and start-ups from around the world. Applications for the ITU Digital World Awards 2021 will open in the second quarter.

Learn more on how to take part in ITU Digital World as an SME here.

Image credit: Pallava Bagla/Corbis via Getty Images

 

This blog was originally published on ITU News.

Categories
Blog

How Zimbabwean SME Purple Signs are bringing ever more Africans the benefits of affordable, accessible sign language tools – thanks in part to ITU Telecom World

How Zimbabwean SME Purple Signs are bringing ever more Africans the benefits of affordable, accessible sign language tools – thanks in part to ITU Telecom World

Purple Signs is set to impact the lives of at least 300 000 deaf adults and children, and enable up to 10 000 front office service providers to communicate with the deaf without prior expensive training in the sign languages of multiple African countries. We asked Dominic Tinashe Tapfuma, Founder and CEO of the Zimbabwean SME about his innovative solution, how his experiences at ITU Telecom World 2018 have helped drive his success – and what the future holds for Purple Signs.

 

What is Purple Signs all about?

Purple Signs (Private ) Limited seeks to capture the wave of digital innovation and Africa’s lead as a technology adopter by democratizing communication and socio-economic participation for the deaf or hard of hearing – and eliminating the reinforcing nature of exclusion the deaf community suffer from due to communication barriers. Purple Signs equips hearing and deaf people with affordable, accessible sign language live translation and interpretation tools. We eliminate language barriers between the deaf and the hearing to allow seamless the deaf to integrate seamlessly into society and give on demand insights, visualizations and motivation of deaf culture.

Why did you decide to take part in ITU Telecom?

ITU Telecom World was a unique opportunity to learn best practice in the telecommunications space and then improve our product offering, as well as opening up Purple Signs to new world markets. As the leading UN tech event for governments, corporates and SMEs, the event gave us a platform to help accelerate our ICT innovations for social and economic development across the globe. Purple Signs joined ITU Telecom World 2018 to draw insights on emerging trends and the future of communications, and to interact and gain experience from world-renowned administrations of ITU member states, national regulatory authorities and ITU corporates sector members, with help from the Postal &Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe and Zimbabwe’s Ministry of ICT and Cyber security.

Tell us about your experience at the event – what did you take part in, who did you meet, what did you learn?

Purple Signs uses technology to enable the deaf to communicate with the hearing by means of mobile wireless technology, emerging new technologies and the scale offered by Mobile Network Operators (MNOs). So our team targeted forum discussion sessions in line with this. We took part in the exhibition within the Zimbabwean Pavilion. Visits and feedback from influential leaders in the ICT innovation space inspired the need to scale our innovations to new countries across Africa and the globe.

The ITU Telecom World 2018 networking mobile application helped Purple Signs identify potential partners even before even arriving at the event. The influential leaders we met at the event included the Minister of  ICT from South Africa, the CEO of MTN, the Minister of ICT from Ghana, regulatory authority officials from Ghana, Cameroon, Namibia, Egypt and Nigeria, as well as SME founders from multiple countries whose vision and drive continue to inspire our future work.

Key learnings included understanding the importance of product quality, designing solutions for scale and impact, franchising and access to investor finance. We also learnt about the importance of collaboration, and of understanding the digital strategies and policies that shape the administration of technologies for a connected, inclusive, sustainable future. Appreciating how fellow SMEs solve socio-economic community challenges using technology and building capacity through collaboration were some of the highlights of the ITU Telecom World experience.

How has taking part in the SME Programme benefited Purple Signs?

The SME programme has helped put Purple Signs on the world map of companies driving ICT solutions with high social impact. Since then, we’ve met with several Zimbabwean government ministries, as well as representatives from UNICEF Zimbabwe. The experience of taking part has had a massive positive impact on the quality of our Purple Signs solutions. On returning to Zimbabwe, senior management hired a team to revamp our branding. Internal employment opportunities have been created for deaf employees with the Purple Signs business model. A new website and applications in line with international best practice have since been developed.

We have also engaged with the Zimbabwe Medical Association and Pharmaceutical Association of Zimbabwe to offer communication solutions to health care service providers and deaf patients in the health sector, and expanded into tourism and legal services. After ITU, Purple Signs initiated consultations with the Standards Association of Zimbabwe which have led to a new national standard to be created in Zimbabwe for customer services offered in Zimbabwean Sign Language for deaf customers across all industries. ITU helped us to understand the need and importance of shaping policies which drive the development of sustainable inclusive multi-purpose technological solutions. The standard is now at draft phase, and will have a direct impact on customer service delivery in sign language in Zimbabwe for generations to come in financial services, pharmaceutical, public utilities, education, entertainment, health care services, legal services, mass media, telecommunications, tourism and hospitality.

And what are your plans for the future?

The future of Purple Signs is global. We want to reach IPO on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange by 2025. Franchising and re-arranging operations in preparation for IPO has become an exciting daily focus. Plans for the year are to drive investor engagement and engage new governments to offer similar solutions in their countries in sectors where needs are greatest – including the finance and tourism sectors, where we want to show how more can be done to engage people with disabilities, and grow products and services to be disability-inclusive in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development goals on fostering inclusion and equality.

Categories
Blog

Year-long leaps in months: Five takeaways from ITU Virtual Digital World 2020’s Ministerial Roundtables

Despite being a formidable challenge, the global pandemic presents an enormous opportunity for the information and communication technology (ICT) sector.

The invaluable role of digital technologies in the response to the COVID-19 crisis is universally recognized, and now is the time to use that momentum to fast-track digital transformation, drive economic recovery, promote social inclusion and tackle the digital divide.

This was the finding of the three Ministerial Roundtables held at ITU Virtual Digital World 2020, bringing together ministers, regulators and private sector leaders from around the world to share their experiences and strategies in the digital sector in the COVID-19 era.

Co-organized by ITU and the government of Viet Nam, this was the first high-level ministerial meeting to be held online since the start of the pandemic.
Read on to discover the top five takeaways from the discussions – also available as videos and session summaries here.

1. Networks stood up well to the challenge of providing uninterrupted connectivity.

With traffic soaring by between 30 and 70 per cent at the height of the initial lockdown, network resilience was critical. Short-term government actions to support operators included regulatory relaxations on spectrum, infrastructure sharing and licencing, as well as recognizing telecom engineers as key workers able to move around to support and maintain critical infrastructure – all measures which could be introduced longer-term, too.

“The outbreak forced digitization at scale on society, so everything related to ICT took year-long leaps in a matter of months. We now need to make sure that pre-COVID regulations don’t hinder the potential of technology and communication in real time.”
– Konstantinos Masselos, President, Hellenic Telecommunications & Post Commission (EETT), Greece

2. Healthcare and education have been the big winners.

Digital has played an enormous role in healthcare, from track-and-trace to remote diagnosis, delivery of medicines by drones, and predictive tools using AI and big data. Education has turned digital at scale and at speed across the globe, with dedicated satellite channels, government subsidies to schools and end users and free access to learning platforms and websites.

The countries most successful in the fight against the pandemic are those who have already integrated digital technologies into policy and healthcare, according to Isias Barreto da Rosa, Chairman of the Board at ARME, Cape Verde. But accelerated digitization in both sectors has underscored the dramatic inequalities between the digital haves and have-nots.

3. Temporary fixes for government and businesses will continue post-pandemic.

Much of the day-to-day functioning of government and delivery of services to citizens moved online at pace – and is likely to stay there as the benefits of cost-effectiveness, efficiency and convenience have become clear.

As Isa Ali Ibrahim, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Nigeria, pointed out, digital technology has sustained government services and operations throughout the crisis with such success that “virtual engagement in federal government activities is now institutionalized.” The same leapfrog effect is true for large corporates, SMEs and growing numbers of e-commerce retailers.

4. Investing in digital skills is critical to recovery.

Human capacity development must be at the centre of policies and strategies on social inclusion and economic recovery. Digital literacy and a mindset open to digital transformation will allow people to survive and thrive; public private partnerships for skills development in the workforce now will build the foundation of sustainable economies in the future.

Ensuring the population all possess the correct skillset is a priority, explained Frédéric Genta, Country Chief Digital Officer of the Principality of Monaco: “We want every company to move to digital, and to make sure every person has the right opportunities to live in the digital world.”

5. The time for operating in silos is gone.

Governments and the private sector must collaborate to drive economic growth and close the digital divide. Administrations need to create the right enabling environment for investment, including revisiting taxation and regulatory frameworks; technology providers from satellite, mobile, fixed and emerging tech sectors must work together; and the creative innovation of tech SMEs should be supported and embraced within the industry ecosystem. Collaboration and cooperation between public and private, all industry stakeholders and across national and international boundaries is key to building back better – together.

“The most important lesson from COVID-19 is that the best resource we can retain is public private partnerships working together.”
– Rosa Nakagawa, Vice Minister of Communications, Ministry of Transport and Telecommunications

See all the highlights from ITU Virtual Digital World 2020, including photos, video sessions and session summaries, at digital-world.itu.int – and find out more about next year’s physical event, ITU Digital World 2021, taking place in October in Ha Noi, Viet Nam.

 

This blog was originally posted on ITU News.

Categories
2020 Daily Highlights Day 3

Ministerial Roundtable 3: The role of digital technologies during and after COVID-19 pandemic

Opening the third Ministerial Roundtable on the role of digital technologies during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, moderator Mario Maniewicz, Director, of the ITU Radicommunication Bureau, welcomed industry experts, regulators and ministers to explore how the global community can use the momentum of the pandemic to accelerate efforts to connect people, industries and homes everywhere.

Nguyen Manh Hung, Minister of Information and Communication, Viet Nam, highlighted a common theme of ITU Virtual Digital World, the first such high-level meeting to be held online by ITU: the global crisis is a big challenge, but also a tremendous opportunity – for the ICT industry, for digital transformation, and for global collaboration on an unprecedented scale.

Digital has become the new infrastructure, not just for communication, but for all our economic, social and personal activities. The technological capacity for digital transformation is already with us, and what is called for now is innovation and cooperation on a global scale. “To build the digital world is more about institutional reforms than technology,” he said, “We have to encourage people to try more – and to make a global effort.”

ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao echoed this appeal to those leaders joining the virtual roundtable from around the world, focusing in particular on the need to foster broadband deployment, emerging technologies and tech entrepreneurs through the right government and regulatory support. “I am confident that what we have learned over the last three days will help us build a better future – a future where public and private sectors work together alongside the international community to advance ICT deployment so that no one is left behind”, he said.

 

Speaking from the perspective of a small island developing state, Deepak Balgobin, Minister, Ministry of Information Technology, Communication and Innovation, Mauritius, stressed just how reliant his country is on air, maritime and internet connectivity for all its economic activities. The ICT sector has proved resilient in the face of the global economic downturn, as governments, corporations, SMEs and individuals have increasingly come to depend on technology to continue operating despite the pandemic. This new way of business is here to stay, he said, and should be viewed as the new normal, supported by suitable investment, policies and skills development for all sectors. The pandemic has proved “an eye opener” in terms of the importance of accelerating existing digitization strategies. “It is clear today that digital transformation in full accordance with sustainability and the preservation of the environment is the way forward,” he added.

Administrations which had already developed and deployed digital strategies were at a huge advantage when the pandemic struck, agreed Mustafa Jabbar, Minister of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology, Bangladesh, praising the vision of his country’s Prime Minister in this regard. “We could not have imagined facing the COVID situation if there was no digitization,” he said, pointing out that everything from financial services to healthcare, business and education moved online for government and citizens alike. But the crisis has also identified some of the key challenges in closing the digital divide, in particular making sure the phenomenal opportunities of digital technologies reach poorer rural communities as well as well-connected urban centres.

“The crisis caused by COVID-19 is a turning point for digital transformation,” said Nguyen Huy Dung, Director General, Authority of Information Technology Application, Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC), Vietnam. “The adoption of new technology requires people to change habits, which can be slow,” he continued, but the pandemic has forced us to very quickly change the way we work, learn and are entertained, “driving adoption faster than would otherwise have been the case and turning a big challenge into a big opportunity.” He outlined how Vietnam’s national digital transformation programme is working to develop a new digital normal for government, the economy and society, built on safe and sustainable online platforms for work, education, commerce and events.

Enhanced connectivity, increased financial inclusion, and increased access to trade and public services have dramatically transformed how we live and work, explained Mercy Wanjau, Acting Director General, Communications Authority of Kenya. “Digital technology is the great equalizer of our time,” she continued, but it is what technology enables that is the true game-changer – and never more so than in time of the pandemic. Frontline workers have been able to continue working, and citizens to access health services, online education and relevant information throughout the crisis. The regulatory body ensured the timely delivery of public service information through toll-free numbers and mandated platforms, as well as reducing the impact of cyber attacks and fake news accompanying the increase in online activity through awareness creation and compliance exercises. “The role played by digital technology throughout the pandemic cannot be overemphasized – and it will be at the core of a safe and orderly return to normal, allowing the smooth provision of services through collaboration and partnerships,” she concluded.

Just how important digital connectivity became during the crisis is evident in the numbers alone – with traffic rocketing by up to 60% across the networks, according to Alioune Ndiaye, CEO, Orange Middle East and Africa. Making the digital world available to all is more critical than ever in the face of the global economic downturn, with the collapse of tourism hitting many countries in Africa particularly hard. Energy, education and mobile banking are major potential areas of impact; and equipping young people with digital skills is essential to enable them to bypass the obstacles of lack of transport and infrastructure and contribute to economic and social growth. But, the operator stressed, “We need support from governments and regulators to maintain investment and growth for a brighter future.”

Gift Kallisto Machengete, Director General, POTRAZ, Zimbabwe, emphasized how digital technologies were not just critical for ensuring continuity in government, business, trade and education during the pandemic, but also as tool to combat the virus through information dissemination, debunking fake news, forecasting, planning and contact tracing. AI in particular will play an important role in predicting the spread and impact of future pandemics, and allowing for the planning and implementation of appropriate mitigation measures. Demand for high speed broadband will continue to increase after the crisis, given the convenience and ease of doing business it offers; trade, education and healthcare platforms popularized during the pandemic will remain relevant. To this end, Zimbabwe is rolling out centres in marginalized areas to ensure access for all to e-learning and e-commerce.

Access to all is an urgent priority, agreed Rupert Pearce, CEO, Inmarsat. The crisis has served to highlight how paramount broadband connectivity is to the well-being and advancement of society, and how satellite is at the forefront of providing seamless mobile broadband to those who need it most or are most difficult to reach – including the maritime and aviation industries. “Satellite operators have mission-critical services and infrastructure for the whole world,” he continued, so are well placed to weather the COVID storm, adapt to de-globalization and exploit the inherent long-term nature of investment activities in the satellite industry to continue innovating, “which bodes well for the future contribution of the industry to bridging the digital divide and providing broadband for all.”

Sattar Hashemi, Deputy Minister of ICT, Iran, joined earlier speakers in underscoring how much digital technologies have become an essential part of our daily lives – and how earlier investment in the sector has paid off in the difficult times of the pandemic, in particular in health, education and business. During the crisis, technology was used to detect the spread of the virus, provide health care and online schooling, and provide a sense of business as usual through socially-distanced working from home. Many such solutions and platforms have offered high performance, cost effectiveness and efficiency, and will be established in legal and structural frameworks after the pandemic. Above all, “this pandemic has shown us that our dependency on data gathering and analytics is more important than ever,” he stated.

For Ramin Guluzade, Minister of Transport, Communications and High Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan, innovative technology was a great help in minimizing the impact of COVID’s threat to humanity, bringing telecom and transport infrastructure and services in line with demand following the shift to online working. Special websites and mobile applications provided secure public health information, as well as notification and tracking services for those affected; and schools, companies and government agencies were able to connect and continue operations through video conferencing facilities. To avoid deepening the digital divide, “the new national digital strategy will focus on broadband infrastructure and capacity development, especially in rural areas,” announced the minister.

“As a regional leader in technology startups, we understand advanced communications infrastructure and how technology can act as a bridge between people and nations,” said Yoaz Hendel, Minister of Communications, Israel. COVID-19 has affected every aspect of our lives, with computers and smartphones becoming lifelines for citizens in lockdown needing to access crucial services such as medicine and education. “COVID has changed the world in many ways, including providing the understanding and will to move rapidly ahead in technological life,” he continued, announcing Israel’s determination to bring all its people the most advanced technologies – including three new 5G networks enabling cutting-edge solutions and fibre optics to create incentives for investment and employment outside of major urban areas. Advanced technologies provide employment, growth and opportunities for knowledge sharing, he said, to better prepare for potential challenges caused by pandemics and other disasters and to build a better world where we “make technology, not wars.”

Regulation has a significant part to play in accelerating digitization, claimed Konstantinos Masselos, President, Hellenic Telecommunications & Post Commission (EETT), Greece, highlighting how regulatory actions must keep one step ahead of market needs to maximize potential without losing sight of market realities. “The outbreak forced digitization at scale on society, so everything related to ICT took year-long leaps in a matter of months,” he said. The networks may have coped well in the short term, but we need to rethink what is actually good enough to allow for efficient working and studying from home in the longer term, from devices and video conferencing platforms to network capabilities. Pre-COVID regulatory frameworks may need to be adjusted to support network resilience and quality of service, especially given the demands of doing business online across countries and continents.  “We need deregulation to make sure that pre-COVID regulations don’t hinder the potential of technology and communication in real time,” he continued. This is a paradigm shift for regulators, but we will advance on digitization through hard work, he concluded.

In Lithuania, one of Europe’s most connected countries, as elsewhere in the world many activities shifted immediately online during quarantine, explained Lina Rainiene, Deputy Director, Communications Regulatory Authority, Lithuania, with network traffic up by 70% and call minutes by 30% within the first few days. This was accompanied by a shift of throughput from major urban centres to remoter, rural areas where people worked from home, presenting major challenges for network operators in ensuring connectivity and accessibility for all – network resilience challenges which operators managed smoothly by increasing capacity. “Our role was to monitor the market and support consumers by monitoring service and service quality, respond with ad hoc measures such as the timely allocation of spectrum, and provide guidance to consumers on how to use services efficiently and stay safe online,” said the regulator. Regulators must prepare for future demand for connectivity, and ensure resilience in the face of any similar upcoming crises.

Jay Carney, Senior Vice President, Global Corporate Affairs, Amazon, reminded participants of the unprecedented reliance on technology, data services and the cloud during the pandemic, with the elasticity of the cloud enabling service distribution in accordance with demand, saving resources and capacity. This degree of scalability, cost efficiency and agility will be critical to embedding digital transformation post-Covid to deliver efficient telehealth, mobile banking, remote working and e-education solutions at scale. But the private sector cannot do it alone: “Governments must catalyze development with policies supporting workforce development and change, championing cloud-first, emerging technologies and digital skilling to accelerate and harness the benefits of digital technology,” he said, looking to the panel to understand better how industry and government can work together.

Government policies and actions have been key in accelerating the digital agenda as a direct consequence of the pandemic. In Trinidad and Tobago, for example, a range of measures were adopted to support increased demand and expand connectivity, explained Allyson West, Minister of Public Administration. These included assigning spectrum at no cost to mobile operators in exchange for service provision in rural areas, free internet access and devices to enable distance learning in underprivileged households, and free wifi in public health care facilities, libraries and community areas. Financial instruments included the use of universal service funds, removing taxes on mobile phones, computers and peripherals to reduce costs to the end user, and partnerships with ISPs to provide affordable connections. The government’s digital transformation agency has developed a digital ID solution allowing secure access to a wide range of public services, which are increasingly digitized. The aim is to counteract the double hit of the collapse in energy prices and the global pandemic by diversifying into digital sectors, fostering SME growth and reducing reliance on imported food.

Gloria Carvalho, Vice-minister, Ministry of the People’s Power for Science and Technology, and Marco Castillo, Director General of the Office for Integration and International Affairs, shared Venezuela’s experience in tackling COVID-19 with digital technologies. “Communications technology is a basic need to combat the pandemic,” said Castillo. Government programmes focused on using big data and public online platforms to track and counteract the spread of the virus – and this reliance on technology exposed once more the dangers of the digital divide. Closing that divide by ensuring access for all to technology and the benefits it brings is key for social inclusion and development.

Julio Munoz, Viceminister, Ministry of Telecommunications and the Information Society, Ecuador, outlined some of his government’s policies and actions taken to boost the positive impact of digital technologies in tackling the pandemic. These included an agreement to stop suspension of cellular service due to non-payment, free data for emergency and healthcare apps and platforms, a large-scale municipal programme to enable wifi hotspots in public locations such as squares and community centres, expanding connectivity in rural areas and working with Internet Service Providers to deploy in the poorest regions.  Collaboration is key, both in terms of sharing best practice throughout Latin America, partnering with the private sector and working with other ministers to reduce taxation on digital devices or build a national strategy for e commerce to boost the digital economy. “We are working to reduce the cost of connectivity as we consider the internet a necessity, especially in times of pandemic where most of us are working from home,” he concluded.

In neighbouring Peru, telecommunication was declared an essential service at the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, with voice and data traffic growing by more than 30% as the country entered lockdown, explained Rosa Nakagawa, Vice Minister of Communications, Ministry of Transport and Telecommunications. Supportive regulatory measures included simplifying the process of infrastructure deployment, allocating temporary spectrum without cost in exchange for internet service obligations in underserved regions, and infrastructure sharing to guarantee the provision of service. Spectrum efficiency is key to increasing connectivity and reducing the digital divide, as well as advancing fibre optic deployment in rural areas and providing access in rainforest zones where the rollout of traditional infrastructure is problematic. “The most important lesson from COVID-19 is that the best resource we can retain is public private partnerships working together,” she said, calling for ministries to provide clear legal frameworks to promote investment and infrastructure deployment from the private sector.

Establishing and sharing good practice is critical to stop the spread of the virus, according to Mario Fromow Rangel, Senior Commissioner, Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones, Mexico. Good pratice includes priortising strategic institutions in response to the pandemic to ensure connectivity for hospitals, healthcre centres, food centres and key infrastructure points such as ports, power plants and airports. A rational internet usage strategy enables monitoring of traffic use and guarantees the correct provision of services to all stakeholders. Given the importance of communications in faciliating the fight against COVID-19, he said, it is essential to “continue working with industry, academia and civil society to collaborate and foster efficient development.”

Mats Granryd, Director General, GSMA, underlined how mobile operators are unlocking the power of connectivity to let people, industry and society thrive, creating a new awareness of the potential for a digital enabled world. During the pandemic, mobile operator networks saw increases in traffic of between 20% and 100% – which operators were able to manage through a raft of measures such as increasing capacity and extending data caps. Mobile payments, digital health care, telemedicine and mobile education platforms all took on new importance during the crisis; and operators also provided aggregated data to inform mathematical modelling to predict patterns of contagion in countries as diverse as Spain and India. The mobile industry is aiming “to continue to invest in mobile networks to facilitate innovation and build the post-pandemic society”, with 5G networks the biggest spend – and growth driver – of the near future. Granryd called for favourable investment environments, including a reduction in sector-specific taxation, increased spectrum allocation and more public private partnerships, to support the industry’s commitment and power fintech, digital services and big data. “The mobile industry has the resources and ambition, and looks forward to working with you all in the new digital age,” he announced.

“As Director of the Radiocommunication Bureau, I am looking forward to working closely with all of you to build a more resilient and inclusive future,” said moderator Maniewicz.

Concluding the final ministerial roundtable of ITU Virtual Digital World 2020, Secretary-General Zhao congratulated all participants on the excellent exchange of views on the power of ICTs to tackle COVID-19, and urged ministers and industry leaders to continue to work together to move forward further, faster. He joined Minister Hung in welcoming all speakers and attendees to meet up again in person at the physical version of the event, ITU Digital World 2021, to be held in Hanoi, Vietnam, in October 2020.