//////////////////////////
H
How does early deployment of
5G technologies help states and
companies in the region in their
Digital Transformation plans?
In the Middle East region, regulators took
a good position to push 5G in an open
way. We continue to collaborate with
governments and customers to push 5G in
the ME region, which will very soon be in a
top position globally with regards to 5G.
5G is growing much faster than expected.
All factors that 5G needs are ready now. We
already had 5G chipsets in 2018. In 2019,
vendors like Huawei and Samsung have
announced 5G smartphones. As for spectrum,
most countries in the region have been
prepared for 5G, like UAE, Saudi and Kuwait.
Moreover, through close co-operation
between government entities, operators,
vendors and vertical partners, Middle
East countries are in the first wave of 5G
commercial launches, standing at the global
forefront. Many operators have already
deployed or announced their plans to deploy
large-scale networks.
Large-scale rollouts started since 2018. I’m
proud to say that our GCC countries are in
the first wave of 5G rollout. By estimation,
we will have one million 5G sites globally in
2019 and 5G is obviously accelerating. We
think it will only take three years to achieve
500 million users for 5G, which took six years
for 4G and nine years for 3G.
The region’s economic value will definitely
be bolstered by the roll-out of 5G
broadband, enabling more people, things
and devices to be connected than ever
before. 5G will facilitate the kind of real-time
data sharing and analysis, and will generate
unprecedented productivity in government,
society, enterprises and even on an
individual level.
Just like the transformation brought by
electricity to society over a hundred years
ago, 5G will bring a revolutionary change
to the future of society. As a crucial digital
service enabler, 5G can offer ultra-high-
speed and ultra-low-latency, delivering
huge amounts of data collected from
our connected world. With this intelligent
connectivity, it will be much easier to handle
thousands of devices simultaneously.
www.intelligentcio.com
“
Charles Yang, President, Huawei Middle East
HUAWEI
HAS NEVER
COMPROMISED
ANYONE’S
SECURITY, NOR
WOULD WE.
Middle East governments look at 5G as a
real enabler of economies and societies.
Middle East governments look at 5G as a
real enabler of their Digital Transformation
journeys. This is true because 5G is a
powerful technology that will change the
future of all industries and sectors.
What are the major milestones
Huawei has been able to achieve
in 5G technologies on the
international scene?
5G is an end-to-end system and Huawei’s
strength is not only in wireless but in all
aspects of 5G, from devices, to network and
to ecosystems. We are keen to support the
Middle East region to be in the first wave
globally in 5G technology.
Huawei started to develop its own 5G
technology as early as 2009. In 2013,
INTELLIGENTCIO
37