As one of the world’s foremost providers of integrated communications and information technology services, however, China Telecom cannot overlook the potential that its technology can play against this invisible enemy that has now stretched to every corner of the globe. China Telecom sees connectivity as an effective means for providing healthcare to the millions of people living in remote areas where individualized medical attention is not possible or economically feasible.

While full and comprehensive healthcare most often requires in-person care, telemedicine can be incredibly effective during the initial phases of diagnosing and treating illness and injury. It can also be a powerful training tool for local healthcare workers to increase their ability to provide the localized care required to identify and stop the spread of infectious diseases like COVID-19.

While connectivity is the logical component of telemedicine based on its ability to conduct teleconsultations and videoconferencing, China Telecom believes that the application of other technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), can also play an important role in improving care globally.

Connecting Globally, Thinking Locally

As the largest subsidiary of China Telecom, it is impossible for China Telecom Americas to look at a global issue such as COVID-19 without considering the implications and opportunities locally in China; an area that is well-suited to provide a telemedicine use case that the world can follow.

China combines a vast geographic area, an aging population, and a lack of infrastructure outside of its major metropolitan areas that would lead one to question its ability to create a blueprint of effective telemedicine that can be replicated in other markets.

Despite these challenges, China has several compelling attributes, such as pervasive mobile broadband, an abundance of talent and technical innovation, and governmental support, which combine to create optimism around how technology can be applied to improve healthcare.

Examples of how China Telecom has leveraged technology to serve the greater good

In response to the recent pandemic, there have been several examples of how China Telecom has leveraged technology to serve the greater good.  Some of these examples include:

• Working to deliver China’s first 5G remote diagnosis of new coronavirus pneumonia using advanced 5G technology with the high bandwidth and low latency required to improve diagnosis and treatment.
• The use of the China Telecom network to aid in the rollout of online learning programs to support students across China who are not allowed to meet in their usual manner. This has been implemented across all levels of education from primary and middle students to the more than 563 undergraduate courses offered being offered by Peking University that utilize online video, group chats and live streaming.
• Outside of illnesses related to COVID-19, patients are being treated for a variety of other ailments – both physical and psychological – by doctors and institutions who understand the desire of the public to avoid hospitals as they practice social distancing.
• The launch of the “5G + Cloud + AI” pneumonia intelligent auxiliary analysis system that improves the accuracy of virus detection and shortens the time of CT scanning. Early data shows that the system can control the reading time within 1 minute through the AI ​​algorithm, with detection accuracy greater than 90% which represents a significant improvement in the efficiency of epidemic diagnosis and treatment.
• The establishment of the “5G AIoT Anti-epidemic Resumption Solution Online Launch Conference,” focused on exploring how to apply the Internet of Things, 5G, AI and further cloud and network integration to prevent and control epidemics.
• The use of location data from consumer mobile devices to help identify the travel patterns of carriers of the COVID-19 virus.

While these represent only a handful of the efforts underway, we are confident that use cases like these will ignite further innovation around how technology can be applied to improve healthcare, to control the spread of this virus, and to prevent future outbreaks.

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China Telecom Americas, a wholly-owned US-based subsidiary of China Telecom Corp. Ltd., is an international telecom provider for Data, IP and Voice Wholesale services to multinational companies, organizations and international carriers requiring China domestic services and International access to China & Asia Pacific.

With headquarters in Herndon, Virginia, and offices in Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas, San Jose, and subsidiaries in Toronto, Canada, and Sao Paolo, Brazil, China Telecom Americas continues to expand its strength and reach.

China Telecom Americas provides locally based, one-stop-shop, turnkey solutions for everything from China domestic and international data circuits to IDC services, network management, equipment management, system integration, and much more.

For additional information on China Telecom Americas, please visit www.ctamericas.com.

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The Importance of China’s Information-Sharing Conference on Coronavirus

Also on March 16, the UN published a statement by a World Health Organization senior advisor. He said that China’s experience with his new disease can help serve as lessons for countries around the world. He mentioned that the epidemic has already slowed down in China.

Even though the Novel Coronavirus can spread rapidly, China demonstrated that it doesn’t necessarily have to grow so quickly that it will overwhelm health services. By sharing their own example of actions that worked well for them, China hopes to help the international community reduce virus cases and deal better with the cases that they do have.

About the Coronavirus Conference in Beijing

The International Sharing Conference occurred on March 12, 2020 in Beijing. China’s attendees included representatives from relevant international organizations and embassies. Representatives from various countries and the World Health Organization’s Pacific Region also participated. While some local participants attended the conference in person, the conference required multi-site video connections to allow others to attend by remote video, which is where China Telecom’s strong 5G network and Tianyi cloud conferencing proved vital.

Tari Desai, WHO’s Director-General, gave a video speech at the meeting. In addition, the director of the National Health Commission, Ma Xiowei, spoke about China’s epidemic prevention experience from the Hubei branch. Also, health commissions from Shanghai, Beijiing, Sichuan, and Guangdong provinces offered their own experiences with control and specific cases through a real-time, HD video connection, provided by China Telecom. On a very positive note, the World Health Organization said they believe that China has adopted the most flexible, proactive, and brave control and prevention measure in global history.

China Telecom’s Contribution to the Coronavirus Conference

Since it’s obvious that other country’s can benefit by China’s example and experience, it’s also important to note the large contribution that China Telecom made by providing their 5G connections and Tianyi cloud conferencing system. For example, they completed the conference site’s 5G coverage within only one day to ensure they had foolproof remote communication. According to conference reports, 90 percent of the people who participated in the conference relied upon access via this conferencing system.

During the conference, leaders from China’s National Health and Medical Commission tried out many features of the system, including video speeches and data uploads, and downloads. They praised the performance and stability of the network and publicly mentioned that they hoped that China Telecom could accelerate development of 5G networks all over Beijing to benefit the capital and the country.

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Of particular use to companies are the SDN and NFV technologies that are emerging from China, and being used by companies such as China Telecom. These SDN and NFV frameworks are community led, many of them being supported by the Linux Foundation, and being used by the international community.

Open-O by the Linux Foundation: A New Orchestration Project

Open-O, by the Linux Foundation, is a new management and network orchestration project that may make it easier for Chinese developers to move into open source deployments. Backed by Chinese companies such as China Telecom, Open-O seeks to address problems such as the language barrier, which have historically made it more challenging for developers in China to engage with the open source community. Open source communities are highly communicative by nature.

Since its initial inception, Open-O has been merged with ECOMP, and the new initiative has been renamed the Open Network Automation Platform (ONAP).  China Telecom is already creating use cases for Open-O technology, which could include using it as an orchestrator for VPN services, crossing between domains and connecting data centers and WANs.

OPNFV: An Integrated Linux foundation Technology

Meanwhile, China Telecom is also working on OPNFV, a project that will help with NFV components within a number of environments and platforms. This open source NFV project is also supported by companies such as Samsung Electronics and Qualcomm, Inc. This NFV platform will be usable in both service provider and enterprise networks, and it’s currently being developed by a total of 55 companies.

Since 2014, OPNFV has been in development as an integrated platform that can produce valuable services and products to companies quickly. Through solutions like OPNFV, companies have been able to move away from commercial and proprietary solutions, and to find solutions that are more universal and well-supported.

China and Kubernetes Adoption

In terms of Kubernetes adoption in China, Microsoft Azure outperforms AWS, which is globally unusual. Designed by Google and maintained by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation, Kubernetes is an orchestration and deployment system. Kubernetes makes it easier to deploy applications in architectures that support microservices, and it’s leading the way in making open source more accessible.

The OpenDaylight City Tour

OPNFV isn’t the only highly publicized, open source NFV solution. Hosted by companies such as Baidu and Tencent, the OpenDaylight City Tour went through four cities in China, bringing awareness and adoption to OpenDaylight technology. OpenDaylight is currently being used by Tencent, Baidu, China Telecom, HBC, and more.

OpenDaylight is a software-defined networking solution and network functions virtualization platform (SDN and NFV). Through OpenDaylight, organizations are able to acquire a complete network stack. A popular Linux Foundation project, OpenDaylight is a modular, scalable, and extensible solution, which is suited even to the largest of enterprises.

The Made in China 2025 Initiative

Technological innovations from China are accelerating, due to the Made in China 2025 initiative which is encouraging Chinese companies to invest in technological innovation. This is encouraging companies to make additional contributions into the open source space. With new frameworks and strategies available to Chinese developers, China’s contributions into the open source arena are likely to continue to grow.

Currently, there are a number of interesting new technologies being developed in China, especially in the areas of networking and telecommunications. China Telecom and other tech-based companies are leading the way for new collaborative solutions, and there should be a number of innovative technologies emerging in the coming years.

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Through Intelisys, the company’s sales partners will gain access to China Telecom Americas’ local expertise and customer service for deploying and managing cross border network services between the U.S. and China, the world’s two largest economies.

Intelisys’ Sales Partners

Intelisys’ sales partners include a mix of telecom sales agents, IT solution providers, value-added resellers (VARs), managed service providers and integrators, which the company refers to as sales partners.

By working with China Telecom Americas, Intelisys’ sales partners will gain cost-effective access to China Telecom Americas’ global communication solutions, including China Telecom’s Cloud Services, direct-connects to partner cloud companies such as Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure, data center and colocation services, global internet, network and managed services, equipment, Unified Communications and its China 4008 Toll Free service.

China Telecom’s Channel Alliance Program enables the partner community to extend its reach with a wide range of solutions coupled with the carrier’s global network expertise. Additionally, the company offers marketing and training support to enable partners to address their customers’ needs.

This agreement enables China Telecom Americas to gain a deeper foothold in the growing U.S. market with resellers and VARs that need connectivity within America and over to China.

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Despite the current economic and political challenges facing China, there is still some optimism in its IT sector. Over the last few years, cloud storage seems to have taken center stage in the Chinese IT industry. What started with pervasive and rapid internet growth has exploded as more people gain access to mobile devices. Personal cloud has sprung up to serve an insatiable need for sufficient storage and data sharing points for mobile users. Behind the boom lies a growing level of attention from both China and the international players.

The size of the cloud market

In 2014, the cloud computing products raised about $4 billion, contributing to approximately 5% of its IT industry, and hence lower than the global spending of about 11%. iiMedia Research group expected the number of active personal cloud users to hit 450 million, from 380 million in 2014. Based on CTA estimation, the Chinese spending on private cloud is expected to hit $2.57 billion in 2017 and enjoy a 30.7% growth in the next five years. While the rates manifest the public willingness to embrace the new storage platform, most popular platforms are yet to reach mainland China.

The key drivers of personal cloud market

While the topic seems to have missed the media headlines, it is driving force behind the Chinese dwindling economy and widening political issues. Private cloud users are keen on some features that come with the platform such as 10 TB storage capacity, fast sharing, high-security measures, and accessibility to all devices. Nonetheless, the service providers are keen to further innovations to win the ever-growing market.

The challenges

By the virtue of its size, every technology vendor hopes to grasp a share of the coveted market. They will have to deal with several hurdles if they are going to make significant progress in the market. For instance, they will have to deal with low internet speeds that stand at about 4MBS compared to the US average of about 11MBPS. In addition, a 14% access to fixed line broadband and 21% mobile broadband means the country is largely unexploited.

Unlike other international players, the Chinese personal cloud services allow users to share information raising concerns among the regulators. In a bid to clean the sector, the national authorities embarked on a drive to purge illegal content from the internet, which saw the exit of six primary services. The absence of a clear business model to drive the firms into prosperity stands the way between companies and profitability.

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