by N. Peter Kramer
Huawei offers to become an indispensable partner for the EU as it strives to develop secure and trustworthy networks to empower a common digital future across the continent. This was the message from the DigitALL lunch debate held at the Huawei Cybersecurity Centre in Brussels. The EU could play a leading role in the 5G mobile communications revolution by developing Digital Trust with its technology partners.
Dr Hui Cao, Head of Strategy and Policy at Huawei EU said, that ‘the EU’s technology sovereignty -emphasising cybersecurity, data protection and privacy- will be enhanced by working closely with the ICT industry.’ Dr Cao pointed out that ‘as the world’s leading supplier of telecommunications equipment, Huawei stands ready to address the EU’s concerns about a wide range of issues, from data governance and AI ethics to the management of supply chain risks for equipment used in EU’s critical infrastructure and digital systems.’
The 10 Megatrends arriving by 2025
The 10 Megatrends identified in Huawei’s Global Industry Vision 2025 report, presented by Dr Cao, ‘will shape the future and inspire a new age of digital inclusion’.
1 – Learning to live with robots: the adoption rate of intelligent domestic robots will reach 14% by 2025.
2 – Learning to work with robots: industrial robot will work side by side with people in manufacturing, with 103 robots for every 10.000 employees introduced by 2025.
3 – Super Sight: the percentage of companies using Augmented and Virtual Reality will increase to 10%.
4 – Augmented Creativity: 97% of large companies will be using AI in their services and operations.
5 – Communication will become frictionless: enterprises will be making efficient use of 86% the data they produce.
6 – Zero search needed: the adoption rate of intelligent personal digital assistants will reach 90%.
7 – Cars will be increasingly connected to the Internet and to each other: C-V2X (Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything) technology will be installed I 15% of the world’s vehicles.
8 – We will live in an increasingly symbiotic economy: 85% of business applications will be cloud-based.
9 – 5G is arriving fast: 5G networks will cover 58% of the world’s population by 2025.
10 – Global Digital Governance: the amount of global data produced annually will reach 180 Zettabytes (ZB =1021 bytes. GB is 109 bytes) by 2025.
‘If the EU is forward thinking and seizes the opportunities these new technologies represent, it can lead the world in the digital revolution while maintaining a wise approach to technology sovereignty’, concluded Dr Cao.
The Chinese giant Huawei is world leader in 5G and other technologies. The company is challenging the EU with the opportunities mentioned in its report ‘Touching an Intelligent World, as Huawei’s Global Industry Vision 2025 report officially is called. But the problem is of course the US. President Trump blocked cooperation with Huawei because of the Chinese law requires Chinese companies to deliver data to the national government.
What will the EU do? Poland ‘connected’ itself already with the US. Some memberstates hesitate about it. Other governments are far behind and hardly know where it is all about. The US and China will easily stay frontrunners.
