Huawei hosts Broaderway Forum in Zimbabwe

The three-day industry event brought together ICT experts from the region to share knowledge and experience in broadband migration from 3G to 4G/LTE technology, at the same time addressing the utilization of broadband technology and services for delivering smart energy as well as broadband and the digital economy. The workshop was officiated by the Minister of Information Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services, Cde Webster Shamu.

During the Broaderway forum, Huawei President for Business and Networking Consulting Department, Paul Michael Scanlan said the link between the penetration of broadband and increase in GDP has been well understood for many years; however the key to a successful NBN is the combination of many factors. These include an appropriate business model, such as Public-Private Partnership (PPP) between Government and Telco Operators, the design of a fibre and copper Hybrid Network Architecture FTTH plus FTTDp plus FTTn, and regulatory framework to encourage and stimulate the NBN ecosystem. He added that this ecosystem includes the retail services sector, the network construction sector, the speed of deployment and open access model that can then stimulate, improve and sustain the general economy of a country in the short to long term.

National Broadband Plan

The State of Broadband 2013 Report theme of Universalizing Broadband builds upon last year's theme of achieving digital inclusion for all. According to the report, 59% of African nations have a National Broadband Plan although many are outdated. Huawei is the recognised leader in NBN and has successfully implemented 14 NBN's globally.

Scanlan said that Huawei will provide support to governments and operators in the region to ensure that its global knowledge can be effectively leveraged by these countries so that economic benefits can be achieved.