The first locally-developed 5G initiative for the deployment of enterprise-grade 5G technologies was unveiled yesterday in Hong Kong. It aims to create a local ecosystem with a 5G private campus network that runs on an extensive optical fibre network, delivering a high bandwidth, ultra-fast speed and ultra-low latency mobile infrastructure.
This mobile infrastructure will enable companies in the city to monitor and control real-time Internet of Things (IoT) applications. By integrating 5G with mobile edge computing in a private campus network, enterprises can also deploy IoT applications and enable data sharing through 5G connectivity.
The initiative was formed through the partnership of Dell Technologies, HGC Global Communications (HGC), SmarTone and VMWare. The four companies are also planning to launch a 5G technology lab in the second half of this year to further navigate and accelerate Hong Kong’s 5G journey.
“5G opens a broad new frontier for businesses and consumers with the power and connectivity of rich mobile services and various broadband options, bringing positive impacts to industries and enterprises, expanding and improving economic activities and enriching our daily lives,” said Danny Tam, vice president, Hong Kong Sales and China Global Account Sales, Dell Technologies.
“With the strong expertise and technological know-how of industry-leading telecom and technology companies – HGC, SmarTone and VMware – we are well positioned to offer enterprise-grade 5G solutions that are the best fit for customers in Hong Kong. Our collaborative efforts and synergy will enhance and stimulate the development of 5G in Hong Kong,” he added.
An ecosystem driving 5G development and innovative applications
With this newly announced 5G initiative, the four companies hopes to nurture a rich ecosystem to support industries and businesses in the deployment and development of 5G technologies with reference use cases across retail, construction, education and healthcare.
5G can help industries transform by leveraging on many other technologies including computing, artificial intelligence, computer vision, IoT devices, machine learning and domain knowledge in vertical sectors ,among others.
In view of the importance of cross-sector collaboration in facilitating creative, successful and commercially valuable 5G applications, the alliance aims to foster cross-industry collaboration on 5G applications for all enterprise sectors.
Combining the expertise of the four companies with solid fibre-based network infrastructure will assist organisations in Hong Kong to simplify IT operations. The combined set of solutions from the respective companies will enable local application developers, technology startups and enterprises with an application development environment that supports edge computing platforms, AI APIs, IoT hardware and software.
This will not only foster the ecosystem but also nurture a wide range of innovative applications. With those applications and the experience gained, a huge data lake in Hong Kong from different sectors will be established and maintained, which can be further utilised by different industries for the next step of innovation including big data analytics, business insight creation, machine learning for better performance of newly-developed AI algorithms, and more.
Joe Cheong, COO, Corporate Business & Enterprise Market at HGC, expressed excitement about playing a significant role in helping Hong Kong’s public and private sectors to meet business challenges with comprehensive 5G solutions.
“Leveraging on HGC’s solid and sizeable local network infrastructure and rich base of local corporate, enterprise and consumer customers, as well as a comprehensive suite of ICT solutions supported by Macroview Telecom, our subsidiary company, we are confident in delivering one-stop, customer centric and sophisticated digital and 5G solutions to customers and assisting them to harness the power of 5G in the new era of digital transformation,” he said.
Stephen Chau, CTO of SmarTone, echoed the same sentiment: “5G unleashes limitless opportunities for enterprises with its ultra-high speed, low latency and massive connectivity. 5G private networks can act as a springboard for organisations to capitalise on 5G for digital transformation with security and privacy, control and flexibility, backed by SmarTone’s powerful 5G network. It can also be tailored for business or industry needs, creating new opportunities that improve operational efficiency and experiences for organizations.”
In May this year, SmarTone successfully launched its widest coverage 5G network with Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS) technology.
“Companies in Hong Kong need to transform their IT systems rapidly to be 5G-ready and create new opportunities in the cloud economy. VMware has over twenty years’ experience in helping companies achieve success with digital transformation, and we are ready to help in the 5G era,” said Franco Lan, general manager of VMware Hong Kong and Macau.
He added: “The VMware Ready for Telco Cloud program has been relied upon by more than 100 telecom operators worldwide to deliver premier services to 800 million subscribers daily. VMware is happy to work together with other industry leaders in Hong Kong, to empower companies to maximise the benefits of 5G.”
