5G is playing a critical role in the battle against COVID-19.

Telecommunications networks - and 5G specifically - is playing a critical role in the battle against Coronavirus (COVID-19) - facilitating faster, flexible connectivity to secure remote diagnostics and treatment.

This is according to Peng Song, President of CNBG MSSD at Huawei, who opened the company’s inaugural virtual 5G+, Better World Summit hosted on 23 April 2020.

“5G provides us a more flexible option and faster connection to get you online. (It) allows us to make full use of experts and medical resources in different regions. 5G-plus AI enables the application of drones and robots to reduce the workload of doctors and nurses,” he said.

According to Huawei COVID-19 has affected everyone and is still spreading, and a digital response to the pandemic can take multiple forms and bring significant value.

Many operators are taking measures to confront the COVID-19 crisis and 5G is vital for both social health and economic performance, the company said.

Cornerstone technology

Guest speaker Shaun Collins, CEO of market analysis firm CSS Insight, described 5G as a cornerstone technology in efforts to ensure early diagnosis and treatment.

He offered insight into developments within the UK’s healthcare market and said 5G continues to be trialled and showcased .

Collins referred to a case study, which pre-dates the onset of COVID-19, that has emerged in the country’s Midlands region, in conjunction with the University Hospital in Birmingham and the South Central Ambulance Service.

He said the Midlands has already been deemed a 5G cockpit market, which means that it is receiving investment from government to trial and showcase solutions that 5G can offer, and healthcare is considered an important area within the trial setup.

One of the focus areas is in the application of 5G in early diagnostics, particularly on the journey into hospital for emergency cases.

“A trial has been emerging in that space around connecting an ambulance and a clinician back at the hospital for the journey for the patient into the hospital. The ambulance itself is fitted out with significant equipment including mixed reality and 5G technology… we have 5G of course in the region and we have 5G and equipment based in the hospital,” said Collins.

He explained that through the process of mixed reality, the clinician is offered a realtime view of what was going on in the ambulance with the patient, through the paramedic him/herself, and delivering that in a way that was particularly important.

This technology infrastructure allows the paramedic to be guided, if and when necessary, to intervene with the patient when critical intervention is required.

High-speed broadband

Collins also referred to the Lifelines Project under which critically ill patients – who are unable to receive visitors - are equipped with 4G-enabled tablets to enable them to connect and communicate with family.

“We couldn’t have done this without high-speed broadband … we will be doing much more of this going forward in terms of the network with 5G.”

Collins also mentioned technology-driven initiatives that have been rolled out, including the deployment of the GEPP (Global Epidemic Prevention Platform) application for pandemics released by Korea Telecom at the end of 2019.

“It has been a significant contributor to the response to the pandemic in Korea in being able to trace and track and provide initiatives for testing to the individuals in that society,” he said.

Collins added: “The platform allows the operator themselves, through recording and tracking the individual, to be able to either inform the individual when they are in a dangerous space or be able to track the individual once they’ve been identified as a carrier and who else they’ve come into contact with. It couldn’t have gone ahead without smartphones, the app economy that we are starting see emerge, and most importantly the 4-and 5G network that we start to see emerge, particularly in Korea.”

GEPP has been rolled out in parts of Africa including in Ghana and Kenya.