PRESS RELEASE: At the 2021 Mobile World Congress (MWC 2021) in Barcelona, the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) announced the winners of the 2021 Global Mobile (GLOMO) Awards. Huawei RuralStar Pro solution took home the “Best Mobile Innovation in Emerging Markets”, confirming that Huawei’s contribution to the digital lives of those in emerging markets is highly recognized by the industry.

Huawei has developed a series of innovative mobile communication solutions for Cremote regions to address the low infrastructure level, the lack of stable energy supply and transmission, and the low installation and maintenance efficiency in some emerging markets. In 2021, Huawei launched the industry’s first integrated access and backhaul solution — RuralStar Pro — achieving the highest integration (RF/baseband/backhaul integration) and effectively replacing traditional costly transmission modes of optical fiber, microwave, and satellite. In addition, Huawei’s smart PV solution has achieved pure green energy (no mains or no diesel generator).

In January 2021, China Unicom successfully deployed the simplified rural coverage solution RuralStar Pro in Maopo village, Guizhou province. Device installation and commissioning take only two hours, which is over 80% faster than the traditional site deployment. China Unicom engineers remarked, “This is the fastest I have ever deployed a site in over 10 years.” Thanks to RuralStar Pro, the days when villagers had to climb upon a hill to find decent mobile reception are history. Now the village is looking forward to a future of prosperity with better telecommunications infrastructure.

Huawei First RuralStar Pro commercial Launch in GuiZhou

Thousands of RuralStar base stations have been deployed worldwide to provide MBB and voice services, bridging the digital divide for rural areas. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, network coverage in remote areas ensured that online classes were available to all students in all villages, and that latest news and relief information was circulated to facilitate medical services in rural clinics, effectively avoiding large-scale transmission of the virus. In addition, farmers have access to the latest information about the produce market, and can lift themselves out of poverty through online sales. In Africa, mobile financial access is provided for those not covered by traditional banks, allowing for contactless transactions, helping governments quickly grant relief subsidies to those in need, and raising donations for disaster relief. Together, these changes are leading the world towards the sustainable development goals proposed by the United Nations (e.g., “infrastructure industry”, “promoting equality”, “health care”, “high-quality education”, and “clean energy”).

Looking into the future, Huawei will remain committed to enriching people’s digital lives and continue to invest in innovative solutions to connect the world. David Guo, President of Huawei Wireless Network Site Product Line, said, “To date, Huawei RuralStar family solutions have been commercially deployed at over 20,000 sites in more than 60 countries across Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Middle East. RuralStar Pro is the latest product of Huawei’s continuous investment in this field, which extends over many years. It features high integration, fast deployment, and easy maintenance, and will accelerate the popularization of rural network coverage and bring digital life to every corner of the world.”

The Global Mobile (GLOMO) Award was set up in 1996 by the GSMA, an authoritative organization in the mobile communications industry, and is deemed as the highest honor within the mobile industry. The awards cover such categories as mobile technology, Internet consumption, industry X, and Tech4Good. The awards are collectively judged by a panel of more than 250 global analysts, media, and experts.