MWC SHANGHAI 2021: Verizon chief strategy officer Rima Qureshi (pictured) highlighted the importance of efforts to close the digital divide in light of the Covid-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, talking up the operator’s involvement in a newly formed group which aims to improve global access.

Qureshi said the pandemic heightened a need to improve digital inclusion, the focus of the World Economic Forum’s recently formed Edison Alliance, which is backed by leading companies from multiple sectors.

She noted the group offers the opportunity to “look at how we create that basic capability to bring as many people as possible over that digital divide and then address the specific verticals that we believe are going to benefit society the most”.

Target areas are financial inclusion, healthcare and education. Qureshi said 5G could play a role in addressing these segments, citing more immersive educational experiences or remote medical interventions as examples.

The Edison Alliance was created in January and is chaired by Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg. Participants from the GSMA, Alphabet, American Tower, Bharti Enterprises, Dell Technologies, Ericsson, Millicom, MTN Group, Nokia and Qualcomm are among its members.