“The experience was awesome, although China was experiencing some of its hottest weather patterns. The temperature soared to high forties at times, even at midnight and the early hours of the mornings, the temperature was still around 30 degrees. I think, I drank more water in those 32 days than I did in my entire life,” chuckled Ashendran Naicker.
The Durban University of Technology ITSS staff member has recently returned from a month-long training seminar from China, regarding learning about alternate ways to deliver high-speed bandwidth.
Sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China, the workshop called the 2017 Seminar on Construction of Information Highway Network for Developing Country Officer was held in Wuhan, China, by the Wuhan Research Institute of Posts and Telecommunications (WRI).
WRI is one of two research institutes directly under the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (predecessor of Ministry of Information Industry) in China. It’s one of two foreign-aid training bases — communication training bases of Asia-Pacific Telecom Union (APT) which is under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. It is also the only qualified foreign-aid training base under the Ministry of Commerce in the field of communications.
Speaking about the exciting seminar, Naicker said there were 18 countries involved such as Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Panama, Honduras, Cuba, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela, Morroco, Syria, South Sudan, Uganda, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Liberia, Kenya and South Africa. “The seminar was all about building high speed networks, using fibre as the backbone, removing electrical components and replacing these with optical components. The other aspect that was discussed was the implementation of 5G technologies. So China will be providing internet access in most of their domestic flights, and this pilot project was on at the time I was there, using 4G technology,” he said.
He further stated that fibre was the main area of research and now ‘fibre home’ (the newest, fastest connectivity type) the new fibre that is being looked into. Naicker said that tests are currently being conducted on a 400GB high-speed backbone and the aim is to work towards a 1TB network which could possibly be tested in the next three to four years.
Talking about his experience as a tourist in China, Naicker said he really enjoyed the freedom he had with regards to security and safety in the town. Also, when he could not sleep late at night or even in the early mornings, he could just go out for a run or walk without any worries. “The city is so safe because of the multitude of cameras it has installed, I think every 200m there are cameras so crime is virtually zero. I found the Chinese people are very friendly and at times I felt like a celebrity. We visited places that are off the tourist maps and here the local Chinese people do see foreigners, so they stop you and want to take photographs of you and with you,” he said.
Naicker also thoroughly enjoyed his interaction with the other delegates from all over the world and learnt about their culture and society. One important aspect he has taken from his experience is that his perspective on other African countries has changed. In fact, if he ever does go on a holiday outside the borders of South Africa, he would like to visit Kenya or Ghana.
The highlight of his trip was making contacts with people from around the world, and in the short time he had forged great friendships and still keeps in touch with some of the delegates. Naicker added that the wealth of knowledge and experience he also got from visiting the plants, that manufacture fibre, and the practical knowledge he obtained on fibre technologies, was also a major highlight.
Pictured: Ashendran Naicker with fellow delegates at the China seminar.
Waheeda Peters
