The current COVID19 Pandemic has struck the world much deeper than anticipated, with low Smartphone distribution affecting the normal trail of manufacturers placing them in a static notation. Governments have continued their response streak towards the Pandemic with support from mobile operators bridging the gap to each and every subscriber.
According to a report by GSMA, the Pandemic has upended People’s lives, health, and general business flow. At the moment, people are relying on eCommerce portals and tech startups to adapt to new ways of life.
“In this unprecedented situation, people are quickly adapting to innovative ways of connecting and doing business empowered by connectivity, and digital transformation is no longer just a question but an action for many industries,” the report said.
In China, mobile operators have taken the mantle to respond to Pandemic queries and ensured smooth communication during health emergencies by improving their 4G/5G coverage maps. In Uganda, telcos have made their offers more affordable on top donating to the COVID19 task force.
The report mentioned that during the construction of two new hospitals in China to treat COVID-19 patients, mobile operators including China Telecom and China Mobile worked with Huawei to swiftly deploy 4G/5G communication networks resulting in full-time mobile coverage for the hospitals.
The deployment of 4G/5G networks also assisted with remote consultation and telemedicine. Mobile operators were able to construct up to eight 4G/5G network sites in less than 30 hours following the construction of the hospitals.
The high-quality 4G/5G networks have ensured smooth and uninterrupted communication services in China and provided strong support for the mission-critical response efforts in China during COVID-19 pandemic
The Report read
In African countries like Uganda, Nigeria, and South Africa, information and digital channels are at the forefront of ensuring that social and physical distancing measures are observed.
South Africa’s health minister Dr. Zweli Mkhize recently spoke about the importance of technological innovation in tackling the virus while receiving Huawei Cloud, Artificial Intelligence (AI) diagnostic systems and four thermal scanning systems.
This Al-empowered diagnosis tool assists medical worker to ascertain if someone has COVID – 19. The accuracy for this tool is over 98 percent with CT scan review times reduced by over 80%.
Ghana also found ICTs as a powerful weapon in the fight against COVID-19. Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia this month launched an app designed to help in tracing people who have come into contact with COVID-19 positive individuals and link them to health professionals for urgent action to be taken.
All in All, the COVID-19 Pandemic has opened new digital opportunities, but the contribution of mobile network operators towards paving way for new measures has iced mass awareness and in return improved population behavior to the current Pandemic period that has resulted into periodic lockdowns.