Monday 13 May 2019
Last update on Monday, May 13, 2019 At 8:49 AM
Egypt is hosting the 2019 African Cup of Nations, during which the Chinese technology giant Huawei will roll out its 5G network for the first time in the country. The network will be launched and tested at the 74.000-capacity Cairo International Stadium, which is expected to host 10 games, including the final of this summer’s African Cup of Nations.
Starting June 21st, 2019, Egypt will be hosting the African Cup of Nations (CAN) and is seizing the opportunity to further implement its technology cooperation with China’s Huawei. “This year, Egypt will host the Africa football champions, Huawei will cooperate with Telecom Egypt to bring 5G technology experience to Egypt for the first time,” said Huawei in a press release.
Originally set to take place in Cameroon, delays in preparation meant that Egypt was ultimately awarded the staging rights of the CAN back in January. The competition will be an opportunity for the Chinese company to showcase its 5G technology at the 74.000-capacity Cairo International Stadium, which will be hosting key matches ending with the competition’s finale. The stage is set for Huawei, who is already an international market leader of equipment for next-generation 5G mobile signal. The Chinese firm is, in fact, the leading manufacturer of such technology and its data transfer technology is becoming a key contributor in Europe’s most strategic economy sectors (energy, transport, health care…).
Huawei in Egypt: a partnership beyond 5G
According to Amr Talaat, Egypt’s minister of communications and information technology, “Egypt wishes to cooperate with Huawei in the field of artificial intelligence, technology transfer and with 5G”.
The wish to promote digital cooperation between Egypt and China goes back several years. During this period, a number of meetings were held between representatives of Huawei and the Egyptian government, the latest of which are two high-level meetings in 2019 that resulted in the decision to launch the first ever 5G network in the country.
Present at this crucial meeting were the Egyptian Prime Minister, Mostafa Madbouli and Huawei’s Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Li Jie. Also present were the Regional President of the company in North Africa, Robinson Tsai as well as the CEO of Huawei in Egypt, Vincent Sun.
Huawei has made it clear since the beginning of its operation in Egypt back in 1999 that it is keen to “match the government and Egyptian market demands and contribute to Egypt’s digital economy development”. On the other hand, the Egyptian Prime Minister highlighted the importance of Huawei’s investment in Egypt, mainly in smart city technology and other technology sectors that the country is prioritizing in its development strategy.
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