Huawei can help the EU enhance its technology sovereignty

(BRUSSELS, 26 September 2019) – Huawei can become an indispensable partner for the European Union as it strives to develop secure and trustworthy networks to empower a common digital future across the continent. 

This was the clear message coming from the DigitALL Lunch Debate held at the Huawei Cybersecurity Centre in Brussels today, which heard that Europe could play a leading role in the 5G mobile communications revolution by developing Digital Trust with its technology partners.

“The EU’s technology sovereignty - emphasising cybersecurity, data protection and privacy - will be enhanced by working closely with the ICT industry,” said Dr Hui Cao, Head of Strategy and Policy at Huawei EU. 

“As the world’s leading supplier of telecommunications equipment, Huawei stands ready to address the EU’s concerns about a whole range of issues, from data governance and AI ethics to the management of supply chain risks for equipment used in Europe’s critical infrastructure and digital systems,” Dr Cao pointed out.

Speaking to an audience of journalists and analysts at the company’s cybersecurity centre in rue Guimard, Brussels, Dr Cao presented Huawei’s 2025 Global Industry Vision report, which details the 10 Megatrends in ICT development that can be expected over the next five years. 

“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,” affirmed Dr Cao.

The 10 Megatrends arriving by 2025

The 10 Megatrends identified in Huawei’s Global Industry Vision 2025 report, shaping the future and inspiring a new age of digital inclusion, are:

Learning to live with robots: the adoption rate of intelligent domestic robots will reach 14% by 2025. 

Learning to work with robots: industrial robots will work side by side with people in manufacturing, with 103 robots for every 10,000 employees introduced by 2025. 

Super Sight: the percentage of companies using Augmented and Virtual Reality will increase to 10%. 

Augmented Creativity: 97% of large companies will be using AI in their services or operations. 

Communication will become frictionless: enterprises will be making efficient use of 86% of the data that they produce. 

Zero search needed: the adoption rate of intelligent personal digital assistants will reach 90%. 

Cars will be increasingly connected to the Internet and to each other: C-V2X (Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything) technology will be installed in 15% of the world’s vehicles. 

We will live in an increasingly symbiotic economy: 85% of business applications will be cloud-based. 

5G is arriving fast: 5G networks will cover 58% of the world’s population by 2025. 

Global Digital Governance: the amount of global data produced annually will reach 180 Zettabytes (ZB, 1021 bytes. GB = 109 bytes). 

To read more about what 2025 will hold in terms of new technologies, download Huawei’s full Global Industry Vision report, entitled “Touching an Intelligent World”.

C-V2X, a future-proof technology

Huawei also took the opportunity during the DigitALL event to emphasize the potential of its 5G solutions to tackle crucial environmental problems by reducing, for example, traffic congestion and CO2 emissions through 5G communications and connected vehicle technology.  

Mr Fabrizio Cortesi, Director of Strategy and Cooperation for Huawei Europe’s Wireless Networks division, said: “5G is green and it offers unrivalled opportunities for climate change mitigation. We have a future-proof technology in C-V2X (Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything), which works best with 5G, and we trust that the European Commission will fully integrate, what will soon become the global standard for connected cars, into its forthcoming Delegated Act for Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS).”

Following the intervention of EU Member States, the European Commission is now rethinking its C-ITS legislation before re-submitting it to the European Council by the end of the year. “This is an opportunity for Europe to introduce legislation that will allow it to join China and the US at the forefront of innovation in connected vehicles, as we enter the 5G era,” said Mr Cortesi. 

By fully utilizing 5G, intelligent connected cars, IoT, quantum computing and other smart technologies, a healthy intelligent transport system can help ease the lives of busy urban residents, reducing travel costs and journey times, and boosting efficiency across European cities, as well as reducing the number of accidents and deaths on the continent’s roads.