High technology, IoT seen as priorities for ICT sector in Belarus

Photo: belta.by

The current state of affairs and the prospects of developing the telecom market in Belarus have been discussed at the government session hosted by Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, BelTA informs. According to the president, this field is one of the most promising sectors of the Belarusian economy. Alexander Lukashenko remarked that Belarus is in the group of countries with an advanced ICT sector and good corresponding infrastructure. “Belarus is the leader in the CIS, it is on a par with such European countries as Italy, Portugal, the Czech Republic,” he said. At the same time, the president stressed that the dynamics of processes, the speed of technological evolution in this field are incredible. Therefore, there's need for constant efforts to keep up:

"But the main thing is that communications cease to exist as a separate branch, they are now integrated in all walks of life, in traditional industries like telecom and mass media and other industries like medicine, education, manufacturing, etc. Yesterday the Internet of things was an abstract thing, today the exchange of data in an autonomous regime without human involvement between various systems in the housing and utility sector, manufacturing, transport, logistics has become the absolute reality. Moreover, telecommunications are now inseparable from the digital transformation of the economy. Therefore, we need to keep an eye on the development of these sectors in correlation.

The question is what measures are needed not only to keep Belarus’ positions in the global rankings but also to improve them, if there are any constraints in the development of the ICT sector in Belarus and if additional solutions are needed."

Belarus is ranked 32nd in the ICT Development Index (an index published by the International Telecommunication Union) and is one of the countries with good ICT infrastructure. The abovementioned index is based on such indicators as Internet access, broadband connection quality, cable television and mobile coverage, including the availability of high-standard networks, and other things.