ICT is a key driver in Asia Pacific’s digital economy, with a strong CAGR of 13% from 2020 to 20251, ahead of other regions.
This has sparked not only lifestyle changes and new businesses, but also has impacted social welfare and daily life in Asia Pacific countries. Think of reduced unemployment rate (the regional average stands at 3.1% in 2024, much lower than the global rate of 5.2%23), the emergence of new types of labour (15% of Indonesia’s urban population are new types of labour, according to Huawei’s insights), asset appreciation, low carbon emissions, and rural revitalization (Thailand is doing live streaming to sell its agricultural products), to name a few. This progress is made possible thanks to the development of ICT infrastructure.
The digital economy also generates huge demands for cloud services in this region. In the case of Hong Kong and Singapore, the governments are addressing the growing needs by actively promoting the construction of intelligent infrastructure, including large-scale intelligent computing centers, DCI, and submarine cable landing points—making them twin stars in the region’s intelligent development.
It’s clear how ICT has played such a foundational role in the development of the digital economy. And to sustain its high economic growth, Asia Pacific must continue building higher-quality ICT infrastructure.
The telecoms industry is at a crossroad
As the digital economy wave sweeps our shores, telecom operators—suppliers of ICT infrastructure—face equal measures of challenges and opportunities. With the rise of digitalization, users have higher demands for network coverage and experience, intensifying competition among operators. Leading operators will have a greater advantage in the competition for high-value users, potentially creating a divide where they expand and seize new opportunities while their lagging counterparts struggle to balance profitability and investment.
Currently, many Asia Pacific countries are undergoing large-scale construction of 5G and fiber broadband, posing network investment challenges for operators looking for pathways to commercial success. On the other hand, the digital economy’s increasing demand for ICT—in tandem with trends like the circular economy and enterprise cloud adoption—offers operators new business opportunities and scenarios. In the digital era, operators’ opportunities increasingly come from high-value digital services, high-value connections in enterprise scenarios, and the massive demand for the Internet of Things (IoT), which form the second growth curve of operators. Asia Pacific operators must actively transform during this critical period to overcome challenges and seize the benefits of the digital age.
At the forefront of the region’s digital economy development is China. Operators not only have many successful experiences in digital transformation, optimizing income structures, and enhancing revenue, they also have been strategically investing in ICT infrastructure alongside the Chinese government, building high-quality ICT infrastructure and nurturing new productivity.
China’s development of 5G and fiber broadband excels in all fronts. In the consumer markets and home markets, it is greatly improving people’s convenience while also driving a robust wave of industry digitalization—rapidly advancing China’s digital economy to account for 41.5% of the overall economy4. During this process, operators have achieved remarkable results on their second growth curve, with cloud businesses accounting for 24.4%5, becoming strong growth drivers. This experience is worth learning for Asia Pacific operators to create a unique path for digital transformation and commercial success in the region.
Three Key Recommendations for Operators’ Digital Transformation
When it comes to modernizing a telecom’s operations, we highlight three ways:
- >Strengthen ICT infrastructure through technological innovation
This is the foundation for the digital economy’s takeoff. To develop rapidly, the infrastructure must be robust. 5G, fiber broadband, and high-density low-carbon data centers are the pathways for ICT. Only by expanding these pathways can the digital economy develop without limitations. With more powerful network capabilities and better network experience, more and more services are carried on carriers’ networks, which naturally brings more profits to carriers.
For instance, Hong Kong Telecomm has announced 5G-Advanced network and related new use cases—think of AR, glass-free 3D, and RedCap—serving as success stories in Asia Pacific for operator-built advanced ICT infrastructure based on end-user access to bandwidth-intensive applications and services.
2. >Co>-create with industry partners to become incubators
This is especially relevant for the development of new applications and scenarios through the breadth of ICT, cloud, and AI to achieve a win-win in this digital era. The significant dividends of the digital economy require the collective creation of all industry parties, including operators, equipment providers, content providers, and upstream and downstream industry chains.
Together, they can open new blue oceans, accelerate the supply and demand cycle of the digital age, and drive the digital economy forward at high speed. For instance, AIS launched Fiber-To-the-Room service in Thailand, accompanied by 1Gbps downlink speed experience across every household—collaborating with the existing ecosystem to offer smart home services to win over the market.
3. >Fully leverage the local resource endowments of operators
Think of telecom infrastructure, energy infrastructure, and trusted security advantages, that can help put you on the path of digitalization with unique regional characteristics. Asia Pacific is inclusive and dynamic, with rich localized applications such as Grab, Lazada, and Shopee. The local OTT players cooperate with local operators to offer customization to end users.
In Thailand, Huawei supported the government in releasing a Thai large language model. Meanwhile in Indonesia, Huawei worked with operators to reduce fiber optic laying costs through its innovative Air-PON solution, extending electronic payments and online shopping to rural areas. Huawei and local operators work together to digitally transform various government sectors and improve people’s livelihoods, better serving and contributing to the local community. One recent example is that AIS, China Unicom, Huawei, and Midea have jointly implemented the first 5G fully connected factory in Southeast Asia, setting a new standard for smart manufacturing in the region.
Digital transformation is no longer just a simple application of technology but a deep integration of technological innovation with economic, technological, and social systems. As Asia Pacific moves towards a golden period of digital economic development, Huawei is committed to being a technological innovator, industry leader, and local contributor in this region. By collaborating with local ICT industry partners through technological innovation, Huawei aims to build a solid ICT infrastructure, jointly promote the development of the region’s digital economy, and contribute to its prosperity.
Simon Lin
President, Asia-Pacific, Huawei Technologies
Simon Lin serves as the President of Huawei Asia Pacific region.
With over 20 years of international experience in the telecoms industry, Simon is a highly experienced ICT executive with a proven track record of achievements in business strategy, developing strategy to execute, organizational development, operation management, business environment and talent development.
Simon joined Huawei in 2002. Prior to his current role, he has assumed several key roles in the company including the President of Huawei Deutsche Telekom Key Account Department and Vice President of Huawei Latin America.
Simon holds a bachelor’s degree in wireless communication from Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications and a master’s degree in economic management from Wuhan University.
1 Google, e-Conomy SEA 2023, Nov 2023
2 International Labour Organization, World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2024 report, Jan 2024
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Source: News