Huawei Technologies has launched a position paper during the ITU Telecom World 2018 in Durban, South Africa, currently taking place from 10-13 September. The position paper states that ICT has the transformative power to boost sustainable socio-economic development and governments have a vital role to play in forming a favorable environment for the dynamic and healthy development of the ICT industry.

In the position paper titled “Telco: Investment, Innovation and Competition in ICT Infrastructure”, Huawei summarises the development trends of ICT as observed around the globe and evaluates potential social economic development spurred by ICT, after conducting a regression analysis based on a data set of 125 countries for the period 2010 to 2016. It concludes that every 16-20% increase in ICT investment brings 1% growth in GDP; so in order to fully unleash the potential of ICT in promoting economic growth and societal well-being, governments have a critical role to play in terms of supporting investment in ICT infrastructure, encouraging ICT innovation, and in guiding and regulating ICT competition.

At the launching ceremony, Houlin Zhao, ITU Secretary-General, said government should make ICT policy not just sectorial but national. The development of ICT and relevant infrastructure cannot be realised by solely relying on participants in the ICT ecosystem. Instead, it requires support and guidance from governments.

“Our objectives are clear: connecting the unconnected, providing people with more advanced technologies, developing new applications, and facilitating other ecosystems. And to succeed in this endeavor, we need more innovative public-private partnerships.” said Zhao.

Phillippa Biggs, chief content coordinator of ITU Broadband Commission for Digital Development said policies for an enabling environment are a must for broadband, including enabling policies and regulation to help co-investment of cross-country interconnection, USF for broadband roll-out and promotion of utility infrastructure synergies.

Zhou Mingcheng, Vice President of Huawei Global Government Affairs Dept., said ICT has become a fundamental feature of modern society, and fast and healthy development of ICT industry requires supports and guidance from governments in stimulating investment in ICT infrastructure, encouraging ICT innovation and regulating competitions.