Power supply of low carbon digital Thailand

On the road to a low-carbon future, Thailand is the first country in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to commit to carbon neutrality. At the United Nations Conference on Climate Change in 2021, commonly referred to as COP26, Thailand proposed the 2050 Carbon Neutrality Roadmap for Climate Change, reflecting the cornerstone set by the European Union (EU). .

In this truly important journey, digitalisation will play a crucial role as we work to achieve the 2050 carbon neutrality goals. The public and private sectors need to build partnerships and promote Thailand as a regional digital hub. We need to strengthen existing industries through advanced technologies and innovations, encouraging new industries with S-curves for the digital future.

Next, we need a vision-oriented framework at the national level to set the right direction and motivate the whole country to fight together for our vision. From this perspective, we are excited to see that Thailand has already released inspiring visions, such as Thailand 4.0, Carbon Neutrality 2050 and a bio-circular green economic model.

Enrich the adoption of 5G for ubiquitous connectivity

Faced with the opportunities and challenges we have just outlined, Huawei can help Thailand move towards its goals in four main ways: enriching the adoption of 5G for ubiquitous connectivity, building a cloud-based digital platform, accelerating the transition to low-carbon digital energy, and cultivating an ecosystem for digital talent and innovation.

5G is becoming increasingly important for information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure. Not only will this change people’s lives, but it will also transform industries and even rethink how societies operate globally. We must continue to expand Thailand’s 5G coverage and adoption to expand the inherent economic value.

According to a joint forecast by the Office of the National Commission for Digital Economy and Society (ONDE), TIME Consulting and Huawei, the 5G economy will reach 2.3 trillion THB by 2035, representing about 10% of total GDP.

Thailand is now a leader in the development of 5G in the ASEAN region. By the end of the third quarter of 2021, Thailand had deployed more than 20,000 5G stations and reached 4.3 million 5G users, two and a half times the total number of 5G users in other ASEAN countries. 5G provides services and experiences that are 13 times faster than 4G, and Bangkok is ranked as the top 10 in the 5G city by the Global Mobile Communications Association (GSMA).

In fact, in 2021, Huawei is working with several Thai customers to launch pilot 5G projects in various industries, including healthcare and agriculture.

Based on this successful experience next year, with our 5G Ecosystem Innovation Center and rich partner ecosystem, we will continue to help Thailand guide ASEAN in the deployment and deployment of 5G in vertical industries. We will introduce 5G technology in hospitals, ambulances and AI-assisted solutions in the medical field: we will work with a total of 20 local hospitals to make this happen. We will also build three or more 5G city benchmarks in support of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) activities that Thailand, as we know, will chair in 2022, and in line with the digital vision of the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC). A development plan – part of Thailand 4.0 – will help bring 100 5G factories into the EEC region, including 5G car factories.

Construction of a cloud digital platform

As already noted, the pandemic has accelerated the digital transformation in Thailand. According to professional service provider Deloitte, from 2020 to 2021, the percentage of Thai companies using the cloud has increased from 59% to 78%. And by 2030, the digital economy will account for 30% of Thailand’s total GDP.

At the same time, the idea of ​​data localization is gaining momentum. Currently, 62 countries around the world have issued 144 data localization policies. It is clear that it is extremely important to promote data security and to control the value chain of the data we hold. This is because in the future, the most important resource on planet Earth will not be oil, but data.

Given that national digital platforms will generally be based on cloud services, we need to support Thailand to strengthen its with Huawei Cloud.

We are very proud that Huawei Cloud is the only provider of cloud services with local data centers on the market in Thailand. We created the first local data center based on Huawei Cloud services in the EEC in 2019, deploying a second in Bangkok in 2020. And in November 2021, after a year of hard work, Huawei’s third local availability zone (AZ ) has already entered service.

Accelerate the transition from low carbon to digital power

It is equally important that we power low-carbon Thailand with digital energy solutions.

Over the next decade, Thailand’s energy transition will develop at an exciting pace, bringing with it about 1% GDP growth. Huawei is fully committed to supporting Thailand’s efforts to become an ASEAN leader in low-carbon emissions. We are confident that we can achieve this goal together through technological expertise and attention to world best practices.

Cultivating an ecosystem for digital talent and innovation

In the meantime, we need to work with all partners to cultivate a thriving ecosystem for talent and innovation.

As Thailand is rapidly moving towards a digital leader in the region, it is encouraging to see that the digital ecosystem is beginning to thrive here. Thailand already has three startups that have achieved unicorn status valued at $ 1 billion or more: Flash, Bitkub and Ascend Money. And this ecosystem continues to evolve, showing impressive potential. In the Institute for Management Development’s (IMD) global competitiveness ranking, Thailand ranks 28th in 2021, demonstrating the country’s solid infrastructure base: it is a strong basis for further improvements that need to be made.

However, there is an urgent need for additional investment in the cultivation of digital talent. By 2030, the total demand for digital talent in Thailand will exceed one million and there will be a deficit of 400,000 in terms of digital labor supply.

As an active factor in digital transformation and an eager contribution to raising wider social value, Huawei will continue to build Thailand’s ecosystem platform and its talent program.

The main participating ecosystem platforms include the 5G Ecosystem Innovation Center, which already has over 100 partners, the 5G Alliance, which will be established in the first quarter of 2022, the Huawei Cloud Partner Network (HCPN) and the Huawei ASEAN Academy (Thailand), which aims to cultivate over 100,000 ICT talents in 5 years.

To better cultivate digital talent, we will continue to expand the impact of our competition for innovation in 5G applications and the Spark program. In addition, since Huawei’s global flagship project Seeds for the Future launched in Thailand in 2013, Huawei Thailand has partnered with 23 local universities to facilitate knowledge transfer and skills improvement for more than 215 leading students.

Grow up in Thailand, contribute to Thailand

Faced with uncertainty and opportunities, digitalisation and low carbonisation are now recognized as the two key priorities for the world. Here, Thailand plays an inspiring role, with a progressive vision that puts it one step ahead of most countries.

Huawei is grateful for the strong trust and support given to it by the Thai government, as well as its customers, partners and a dedicated local team. In fact, Huawei has maintained a strong local presence for the past 22 years with a long and solid mission: Grow in Thailand, contribute to Thailand by powering a connected, intelligent and digital low-carbon Thailand.

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