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Huawei 'Global Connectivity Index 2019' Report

BD top four in digital economy growth

November 21, 2019 00:00:00


Bangladesh has been ranked in top four list in Huawei Global Connectivity Index 2019 report for improvement & remarkable growth in digital economy in last four years.

Other three countries are Ukraine, South Africa & Algeria. This list has been made by evaluating the progress in the digital economy of the world, said a statement.

Global Connectivity Index (GCI) is a research report published by Huawei on digital development based on how ICT innovation and ICT applications can grow national economies, and conducts open research into the digital economy with top universities, think tanks, and industry associations. The goal is to provide countries and industries with authoritative, objective, quantified assessments and recommendations on digital transformation.

GCI 2019 report says, as a starter nation, less than 5 years Bangladesh boosted its GCI score by seven points. Since 2015, mobile subscription penetration jumped from 5.0 per cent to 41 per cent and smartphone penetration from 7.0 per cent to 34 per cent. In addition to mobile subscription, the country's fiber to home (FTTH) coverage & fixed broadband base also made significant progress.

Intelligent Connectivity is another potential Catalyst for Fresh GDP Growth for all the countries including Bangladesh, report says.

It is not just developed economies that can benefit from Intelligent Connectivity. GCI 2019 finds that nations at every level of digital development can access the "upside potential of AI" as a GDP booster when it is deployed by industries and organizations.

Even for Frontrunners like Japan and the US that have leading ICT infrastructure, the potential of AI has only just begun to be tapped. Adopters and Starters like China, Malaysia, India, the Philippines, and Spain aren't spinning their wheels, either. They're rolling out AI technologies as fast as they can.

As AI-infused Intelligent Connectivity begins to have a meaningful impact on the digital economy and sparks a tipping point for digital transformation, a key finding of Huawei's GCI 2019 is that countries with GCI scores over 65 that have made continuous investment in Intelligent Connectivity can expect it to boost GDP by more than 1%. At the same time, success in the era of intelligence depends on the ability to collaborate on a global scale.

Now in its sixth year, GCI 2019 highlights AI's role as one of four key enablers that drive "Intelligent Connectivity", alongside Broadband, Cloud, and IoT. All four have the potential to be significant catalysts for economic growth.

Whatever a country's level of digital development, policymakers need to look objectively at the strengths of their national economy and determine how they can fit into and profit from the Intelligent Connectivity ecosystem.

"We're now seeing that the fusion of 5G, AI, and cloud has redefined connectivity," said Kevin Zhang, the CMO of Huawei ICT Infrastructure Kevin Zhang.

He added, "Intelligent Connectivity is speeding up the development of the digital economy, so governments and industry leaders in Starter and Adopter nations should embrace new technologies, prioritize work on national-level digital transformation plans, and benefit from global collaboration. Meanwhile, we've realized that Intelligent Connectivity may be the answer to many of the societies' most complicated and deeply rooted challenges, including climate change and the wealth gap between rich and poor. Huawei is committed to increasing efforts to make technology, applications, and skills accessible to everyone, and bringing Intelligent Connectivity's benefits to every person, home and organization."

The GCI is designed to provide actionable insights for how policy makers and economic stakeholders can foster greater success in the digital economy. The 79 countries assessed by GCI 2019 account for 95 percent of global GDP and 84 percent of the world's population.


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