Last Huawei ranking 2020 Global Connectivity Index showed that LatAm countries need to invest more in tech development. Chile is the best performer.
The ranking studied 79 countries, which represent 95% of world GDP, and classified them according to their investment and maturity in ICT and by their digital economic performance.
Last week Huawei published the seventh version of the Global Connectivity Index (GCI) 2020 called “Shaping the new normal with smart connectivity”, a report produced annually by the technology company, intending to demonstrate the growing influence of artificial intelligence (AI) in the global economy.
In its latest version, the GCI ranked 79 countries, representing 95% of global GDP and 84% of the world’s population, and ranked them according to their investment and maturity in ICT and by their digital economic performance. On this occasion, Chile ranked 30th in the ranking – advancing 11 places since 2015 – and number 1 in Latin America, above countries such as Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia.
Why is Chile performing better than other Latin American countries?
The manager of Public Affairs of Huawei Chile, Marcelo Pino, assures that this is because Chile has promoted policies around digitization and the adoption of digital tools to improve productivity. “Chile is a benchmark in Latin America in the adoption of technologies and this is reflected, for example, through its leadership in the digitization of industries based on natural resources, for example, mining.” Likewise, he assures that the country is being a pioneer in the incorporation of technology that in the future will have a positive impact on the Gross Domestic Product.
What is the ranking measuring?
Depending on the score, the study classifies nations into three categories: Frontrunner, for those with developed economies that focus on improving the user experience, investing in 5G, Big Data, AI, and IoT; Adopter – which Chile is in this year – for countries that are targeting increasing demand for high-speed cloud connectivity to facilitate industry digitization and economic growth, and Starter, for those just starting with the ICT infrastructure construction stage.
The GCI also classified several countries as Clusters in Innovation (COI) and Chile was highlighted for being able to combine digital technology with its abundant natural resources, since in the country there are more than 200 companies that focus on these, such as mining and salmon farming, and ICTs are having a great impact helping them to communicate and coordinate better with each other, and with each of their areas of work.
One of the conclusions of the study was that companies that are inserted in countries with higher scores have a greater capacity to react to the COVID-19 pandemic, since they can use digital tools and services to mitigate the impact of lockdowns and social distancing, with the availability of high-speed broadband, cloud, artificial intelligence, and IoT solutions, enabling them to implement distributed workforce models, migrate to e-commerce platforms, and digitally transform their operations to maintain continuity of their business. The projected decline in their GDP per capita is approximately 50% lower than for the emerging GCI economies.
The GCI also maintains that the digital transformation of industries will help countries increase productivity, stimulate economic recovery and develop future competitiveness. The study’s research suggests that economies that could increase productivity and go digital with smart connectivity generally enjoy higher gross value added per worker.