Chinese telco to help Phl launch i-cities

MANILA, Philippines - Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei said it is high time for the Philippines to embark on initiatives to transform its cities into intelligent urban centers that are disaster-prepared and efficient.

Jacky Gao, Huawei Philippines chief executive officer, said that for a country with a population of 100 million mostly concentrated in urban areas such as Metro Manila, the transition into intelligent cities is a necessity.

“We believe the time is right for the Philippines to embark on this digital journey to transform the way we live, work and play in a safe and healthy environment. This will enable the citizens to be content in this new sustainable society,” Gao said in his keynote speech at the opening ceremonies of the two-day i-City Summit 2017 spearheaded by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) at the EDSA Shangri-La Manila in Mandaluyong City last Monday.

Huawei, which has a business presence in many countries, was assisting the Philippines, through the DILG and DICT, in looking into the many aspects of i-cities that could be adopted in major cities here.

Huawei said setting up an i-City needs inter-agency collaboration, readily accessible information, faster response rate, and consequently an increased digital economy, better employment opportunities, improved living conditions and a more globally competitive Philippines.

“In establishing i-City ecosystem, we are committed to this country by sharing global successful use cases, project experiences through partnership with government, academia and business operators,” Gao added.

It was learned that the i-City brings together four key elements of a city’s infrastructure and the services it offers – digital city management, digital public services, digital industry and safe city.

The four key elements, however, require Cloud infrastructure, communication networks and sensors, which are the eyes and ears of an i-City.