Huawei: ‘We believe technology can help control this pandemic’

Whatever world we come out to at the other end of the Covid-19 pandemic will likely be radically different from the one that came before. Aside from our attitude to hand hygiene, the very structure of our society has changed almost overnight.
At one point, half the world was staying at home and now it seems possible that companies and academic institutions will increasingly offer  their employees the ability to work remotely for years to come . Now, more than ever, the latest telecommunications technologies are vital to keeping companies – and particularly hospitals and frontline staff – connected at all times.
One of the companies to vocally offer its support over the past few months was Huawei, announcing it was to provide network connectivity support to the centre of the first major outbreak in Wuhan, China.
Closer to home, the company also caught Ireland’s attention after it agreed to send essential equipment for the country’s healthcare workers. As well as personal protective equipment, these shipments also included ICT solutions such as video conferencing screens for hospitals and a software platform to help manage systems more efficiently in the middle of a crisis.

Huawei Technologies’ enterprise business director, Kevin McNerney. Image: Jason Clarke

5G network in three days
Speaking with Siliconrepublic.com, Huawei Technologies’ enterprise business director, Kevin McNerney, said that the company’s rapid pivot of its services to help tackle the Covid-19 pandemic was “yet another reminder that we share this world and share the same fate”.
“We believe technology can help play a role in helping to control this pandemic,” he said.
During the earliest stages of the outbreak in Wuhan, authorities famously built Huoshenshan Hospital in just 10 days to rapidly treat a surging number of Covid-19 patients. As with any modern hospital, telecommunications systems are vital not only for day-to-day function, but data collection and remote diagnosis and monitoring.
McNerney said that Huawei was instrumental in getting this technology setup at the hospital.
“Our role in the new hospital in Wuhan was to deploy its 5G network, including network planning, survey, design, laying fibre, deploying base stations and commissioning,” he said.
“We did this with 300 staff in three days so that – for obvious reasons – the hospital could get up and running as soon as possible.”
This helped doctors working at the hospital conduct HD video conferencing with colleagues across China, while minimising the need for on-site doctors at the new hospital.

Q3: AI is a powerful tool that is used now more than ever in many sectors, including healthcare. Do you know of some ways AI is currently helping the healthcare industry? Retweet and let us know! #TrustInTech pic.twitter.com/qOzzWW3px0
— Huawei (@Huawei) May 15, 2020

5G in a...