[caption id="attachment_99475" align="alignleft" width="230"] Alaa Elshimy [/caption] By Layan Damanhouri Not only will the number of connections increase rapidly but also the speed of connections will equally rise making innovation more urgent than ever, according to David Harmon, vice president of Global Public Affairs Huawei in an interview with Saudi Gazette on the future of ICT. The Chinese ICT solutions provider Huawei, branding itself as a leader in innovation, has scientists and engineers working on developing innovative products "because information is going to be transmitted at much faster paces", says Harmon who is responsible for putting in place strategies for Huawei and forming relationships entities that play a role in enhancing technological advancements. "A lot of the world is covered by 4G. When 5G arrives, it's going to be very transformative." [caption id="attachment_99476" align="alignright" width="300"] David Harmon [/caption] 5G can ensure a thousand devices are connected within a 100-square meter radius area, he adds, expected to transform how traditional industries operate. Today there are 10 billion connections in the world. By 2025, there will be a 100 billion. "10% of our revenues is dedicated to basic scientific research because if we can't support it we won't be able to bring new products to the market place. Last year it was 15% of our global revenues. That is over $21 billion in the last years," says Harmon. "People, governments, companies, are looking for innovative products and solutions. How we can deliver better ICT solutions is by investing strongly in basic science, collaborating internationally with the best individuals and organizations in these spheres. We've allocated over 600 million in the area of 5G research." In the next 10 years, 75% of cities around the world will be smart cities, according to managing director of the Middle East, Alaa Alshimy. "In Saudi Arabia, we were the first company to bring the 3G to the Kingdom and we aim to continue to bring the 5G." On internet of things, he says: "Everything you use in the home and in the city will be connected either by devices or by internet, all the information will be connected via the pipe then go to the cloud and then you will run the data analytics and feeding back intelligence to citizens." One example is smart parking to save time and energy to look for a free parking spot in garages. Huawei is engaged with the Saudi government to deliver IoT and smart city solutions. Asked about the consequences of not adopting such solutions, Alshimy said: "You will simply be behind. It not only offers citizens and users a better service but also saves cost of so many factor including environmental, economic, social implications and happiness level." Asked about the challenges, he said one factor is the readiness and acceptance. "It's difficult to change the habits and training teachers and educators," he says. "However it ended up to be successful in places like Dubai and Turkey. In Turkey, 70 thousand schools adopted it making it the biggest smart education project in the world." Financially it is often an obstacle. Some cities can afford today and some are not able to. "Also, it took time for people to understand cloud," he says. "75% are adapting cloud. Some will be leaders and take the risk and have a vision. Others will not put smart city as their priority." The market in Saudi Arabia is an important market for Huawei, Harmon further told Saudi Gazette. In the carrier division, Huawei works with the top three telecom operators in the Kingdom to provide technological solutions. "In 2015, 60% of our $ 61 billon was generated from our activities on the carrier side," says Harmon. "Those relationships with the telecom companies in the Kingdom are strong and over the next number of years there will be the next generation of wireless technologies and communications to make sure information is transmitted at an even faster speed." Operating in 70 countries, in 2010, Huawei set up 2 division globally namely consumer products and technology solutions to governments and businesses. Huawei sells consumer products in Saudi Arabia as well. Globally, it's the third largest provider of handsets. In 2015, Huawei produced 108 million and aims to sell 140 million handsets around the world. Asked about its competition in the market, Harmon says: "By having a consumer and enterprise divisions, we can produce stronger revenues. 7% were generated over providing solutions to individual companies and governments alike." In Saudi Arabia, Huawei is involved in the power sector, energy sector, smart city, security, and financial services. 5G is expected to arrive commercially by 2020.
