Huawei, Telkom partner for a 5G livestream of African Penguins

Huawei and Telkom have supported a 5G live stream of Africa's endangered penguins to highlight the role of 5G and supporting technology for conservation and environmental protection as well as other 5G use case.

The live stream from Boulders Beach in Cape Town, home to the largest group of African Penguins in South Africa, hosted on Telkom’s 5G temporary network, was broadcast to Huawei’s global and local social media platforms.

Hosted by conservationist and wildlife TV presenter Lauren Arthur, the live stream not only gave watchers the chance to experience the unique penguin colony, but it also illustrated 5G’s potential as an enabler of environmental conservation.

For the Boulders penguin colony, intensive conservation is becoming increasingly important. The African Penguin is listed as 'Endangered' on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. As the largest grouping of the birds, the Boulders colony is therefore critical to the species’ survival. Its fragility was also underlined earlier this year when 64 birds died following a bee attack on the beach.

As Lunga Siyo, CEO of Telkom Consumer Business, pointed out, 5G technology could prove pivotal in allowing conservationists to monitor the colony.

“If we could set up a 5G camera here, the experts could watch the penguin's every movement and of course, help prevent another incident like the bee attack,” he said.

“In the future, 5G won’t only enrich people’s digital lives, but will also bring real benefits and change to humans, companies, society, and the natural world,” he added. 5G can be especially beneficial in South Africa’s goal of achieving a digital economy. Siyo pointed out that sectors, where 5G was starting to play a role, included, health, education, mining, and the consumer market.

Siyo also pointed out that Telkom is well poised to roll out 5G across South Africa.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=xB6DEEMBKwE