Digital inclusion: Driving equal access for all

Huawei has released its 2018 Sustainability Report, which explains Huawei's four strategies for sustainability: digital inclusion, security and trustworthiness, environmental protection, and a healthy and harmonious ecosystem.

In a release the company said over the past year it has been working to help achieve the UN's sustainable development goals (SDGs), build a sustainable and more inclusive ecosystem with its industry partners, and execute its own sustainability strategies.

At the launch event for the report, Liang Hua, chairman of Huawei said, "Huawei has been creating value for its customers through innovation. We are doing everything we can to bridge the digital divide and meet the world's needs for connectivity." Hua continued, "We want to make digital services more affordable and equally accessible to all, and to do our part in contributing to social and economic development."

Hua explained that environmental protection is also a key component of Huawei's sustainable development initiatives. "Energy efficiency has become a major consideration for future communications networks. We have to use less energy to transmit more data, and reduce the overall energy consumption of power systems. ICT technologies can help."

Hua explained that Huawei has made many innovations in the course of its 5G research, product development, and engineering. Huawei has managed to reduce the power consumption per 5G site to 20 per cent less than the industry average. This has been made possible by the new Huawei chipsets, system software, professional services, and advanced hardware and heat dissipation technologies. These innovative technologies have made Huawei's 5G more energy-efficient. With the right solutions, Huawei's 5G will be a green technology.

Kevin Tao, board member and chairman of the sustainable development committee of Huawei remarked, "We want to bring the benefits of digital technology to every person, home, and organisation. To this end, we have launched a global digital inclusion initiative called TECH4ALL. For example, our RuralStar solution has connected 40 million rural residents as of the end of 2018."

Tao added, "We currently provide communications services to over three billion people around the world, and we are committed to supporting secure network operations worldwide. We honour this commitment no matter what. For example," he said, "In 2018, after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake hit Indonesia, Huawei was the first and the only vendor to the scene."

Tao also announced Huawei's new sustainability strategies, which include two major changes. First, Huawei has expanded its strategy of bridging the digital divide into a digital inclusion strategy. Building on connectivity, the company is now also paying more attention to applications and skills. Second, its strategy of supporting stable and secure network operations and protecting user privacy has been upgraded into the "security and trustworthiness" strategy.