Pioneering Europe’s future ICT ecosystem

Pioneering Europe’s future ICT ecosystem Information and communication technologies have become deeply integrated into our society. No longer simply an industry vertical itself, ICT has become an enabler of digital transformation across all sectors of the economy. To make this transformation a success, we need an open ICT ecosystem that works across regions and industry sectors worldwide.

This ecosystem must be a community of interests, where all players contribute to and benefit from shared success. Europe’s leading wireless clusters illustrate perfectly how this can work in practice, and highlight examples of the numerous benefits this approach brings to all parties. In Europe’s tech hubs, sustainable economic growth goes hand-in-hand with environmental protection, better services, strong connectivity, and groundbreaking innovation.

Huawei is actively involved in many of the clusters presented in this report. In Munich, we launched an “Openlab” to work on ICT innovation with partners such as Intel and SAP. The lab is focused on the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, and big data to support safer and smarter cities. We have also built a 5G wireless technologies test environment, supported by the Free State of Bavaria, the city of Munich, the Technical University of Munich, and M-Net.

As a driver of future connectivity, 5G is a focus area for activity across European wireless clusters, and a priority for Huawei. We are researching 5G technologies at Surrey University’s 5G Innovation Centre in Greater London – another top cluster – where we will invest £5 million as part of the US$600 million the company has committed to our 5G research plan.

Stockholm, another tech hub, is home to Huawei’s first R&D lab in Europe. Opened in 2000, the facility has about 350 staff working on cellular systems, including 5G technologies.

Huawei’s European R&D network fosters win-win collaboration with European partners to push the global industry forward. The high level of expertise in a variety of strategic areas and the numerous opportunities for collaboration with universities, research institutes, and other industry players make Europe an ideal location for establishing R&D hubs. The latest addition to our growing network is the facility in Tampere, Finland, opened in September 2016. The unit is a part of Huawei’s wider R&D hub in Finland for mobile device technology.

Huawei is committed to helping build an open ICT ecosystem in Europe, creating value together with our European partners, and sharing benefits with them. Our partnerships with academia and universities across Europe are a vital part of this effort.

Ms. Chen Lifang is Corporate Senior Vice President Director of the Board Huawei Technologies.

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A new report by Science|Business highlights an important trend in the way Europe is developing digital and wireless clusters. The report, commissioned by Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd., profiles 10 tech hubs across Europe which have put extra effort into digital innovations tailored to serve local industries and sectors.

The report, “Ten Tech Hubs”, is available here.