Winning Tomorrow Through Digitization
In just two years, the world has been thrust into two devastating and consequential crises: a global pandemic the likes of which we haven’t faced since 1918 and a major war in Europe that has caused the largest refugee crises on the continent since World War Two.
Luckily today, we have three pivotal developments unavailable back then: First, a deeply forged transatlantic partnership with robust institutional underpinnings; second, a web of multilateral organizations and alliances, albeit weakened in recent years, which can be mobilized for common causes; and third, the arrival of the interconnected, digital and technology age that increasingly defines our future, and our countries’ role in it.
Just as the world is recovering from the strains of the pandemic, the war in Ukraine has not only rippled through Europe but, due to global interdependencies, also brought significant second order consequences. The United States and EU, two of the world’s largest economies, have our work cut out for us. By working together and advancing digitization, we can address the current crises and develop the capabilities and resilience to win tomorrow. International security and global prosperity depend on it.
As President Biden said at the Munich Security Conference, The U.S.-Europe partnership “is and must remain the cornerstone of all that we hope to accomplish in the 21st century, just as we did in the 20th century.”
Europe’s shared values, economic prowess, technological leadership, diplomatic heft, and defense industry capabilities make it an invaluable partner to the United States. A more unified U.S.-European approach, and increased cooperation among allies and partners, is just as critical to bringing peace back to Europe as it is for recovering from COVID-19. It is also crucial for other global challenges, ranging from combatting poverty, climate change and humanitarian crises, to addressing digital divides that are now fueling ever growing inequalities, to managing increasing geopolitical tensions, including a rising China.
In Europe, governments have recently made important strategic policy shifts to bolster collective resilience, security and, cyber capabilities. Importantly, these shifts address longstanding strategic dependencies and vulnerabilities, and will improve energy and global food security, for example. The United States is providing unprecedented to achieve our shared goals.
America and Europe, and their companies, have played essential roles in the COVID-19 response and recovery, driven by unprecedented innovation and new industrial collaborations and partnerships. Co-developed and co-produced COVID-19 treatments are being prescribed as we speak. Also, the United States’ Build Back Better World and the European Union’s Global Gateway seek to boost pandemic recovery and rebuilding across the globe.
Digital plays a key role in our response. Already the pandemic highlighted the criticality of secure, fast, and reliable networks, connectivity, and digital services for a well-functioning society, when millions were required to work from home and students in lockdown were dependent on affordable, accessible internet access.
It is also key to addressing strategic dependencies and vulnerabilities. For example, 5G connectivity that can power smart agriculture and energy efficiency will bolster food supplies and energy independence, while reducing reliance on fertilizers and carbon emitting energy sources. This is especially true in Europe, as it is in Africa and other continents.
The Ukraine experience is a microcosm for the unavoidable importance of digitization. Reliable mobile networks are keeping families together and enabling government and economic continuity while under pressure. Ukrainians with cellphones, international connectivity, and internet access have exposed the horrors of war. As James Stavridis, a retired U.S. Navy admiral and former supreme allied commander of NATO wrote in the Washington Post the war’s “most potent weapon may be a cell phone.”
The private sector can do a lot here. Vodafone has partnered with SpaceX, who is working with USAID, to restore mobile connectivity in Ukrainian towns and cities. Our partner, Vodafone Ukraine, along with its competitors are making heroic and tireless efforts daily to rebuild their networks and recover service, despite heavy bombing of civil infrastructure as well as maintain network security. We, and others in the European telecom industry, are donating hundreds of thousands of sim cards, devices, and services to keep Ukrainians in touch with their loved ones.
This war should be a wake up call for everyone that the digital age has changed warfare. Adversaries rely on cyberattacks to disable critical infrastructure and disrupt the defense capabilities of its opponent. But, just as today’s wars are now hybrid, in the world of cyber, there are no borders, and such attacks can easily spill over into other countries.
Modern connectivity is not just “nice to have.” It is fundamental to closing the digital infrastructure gap, which affects our security, energy, and food supply inequalities. Solving these challenges demands long-term planning and investment, combined with tangible steps to allow operators to upscale.
Telecom carriers need to collaborate with policymakers to build the resilient, high-quality, secure infrastructure our nations require. We must earn the opportunities to build the most advanced and secure 5G networks of the future, like Vodafone recently did in Ethiopia with key partners.
I strongly believe that European and American leaders have the same long-term strategic goals in this space.
We cannot let our tactical differences prevent collective solutions. Nor can we fail to shoulder the joint leadership responsibility that rests upon us to address global challenges. Deeper collaboration will enable us to adopt a holistic, consistent and comprehensive approach to re-enforce not only our own readiness for the future, but also that of the world.
We have an opportunity to make robust advances on these issues at the U.S.-European Union Trade and Technology Council currently being held in France. We and others in the industry are ready to lead the way to win the digital age and ensure we are prepared for the challenges of tomorrow.
Joakim Reiter is Chief External and Corporate Affairs Office and Member of Executive Committee of Vodafone Group, one of the world’s largest communications companies. Reiter is former Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations.
