Huawei smart city technologies deployed in Guyana
Information Certainty: Documented
| Summary |
|---|
| In 2017, the Chinese Government gave the Government of Guyana US$37.6 million for a National Broadband Expansion Project. Huawei is the supplier of the smart city technologies. The project is focussed on the development of e-governance and the expansion of broadband, but it has incorporated many elements of biometric surveillance. For example, the installation of 450 intelligent cameras around Guyana, the establishment of a control and command centre for the police, the supply of body worn cameras to police, the use of facial and license plate recognition technologies. Moreover the project is not limited to the 'city' but also includes smart healthcare video conferencing and camera placements in 11 schools. |
Products and Institutions:
| Product Deployed | Safe City Software by Huawei |
|---|---|
| Institutions ⠉ | |
| Datasets | Huawei (Dataset) Unknown Dataset 0143 |
| Search software |
Status and Events:
| Status | Ongoing |
|---|---|
| Events | Start (28 July 2019, Documented, , No description) |
| Start Date | |
| End Date |
Users:
| Involved Entities | Huawei |
|---|---|
| Managed by | Government of Guyana Government of China |
| Used by | Guyana Police Force |
Location:
| City | Georgetown (GY) |
|---|---|
| Country ⠉ | USA |
Description[ ]
In Grenada, the Chinese Government collaborated with the Guyanese government to deploy a National Broadband Plan featuring elements of Huawei smart city technology. The plan includes the installation of over 100 intelligent CCTV cameras. It has been reported that facial recognition and license plate recognition is in use.
With eyes on the city, there is no place for criminals to hide. Citizens can feel much safer. Over 100 intelligence surveillance cameras have been strategically placed across the city as part of the Safe City System. The Safe City System is a component of the US$32M National Broadband Project, which was received from the Chinese Government over two years ago 2
The plan involves the development of a control and command centre for police.
The system is being built by Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. Noting that the system will enhance the capacity of the police, Minister Ramjattan described it as a combination of personnel and technology that will take Guyana forward in terms of security. The project is a collaboration the governments of Guyana and China. The high-tech system can perform face and [car] licence recognition. Several police vehicles are also equipped with cameras and radios that can be traced and accessed at any time. From the security control room, the operators have access to all the cameras across the city that they can pull up on a big screen as they keep watch. What is more important, is that the control room is also connected with all the stations in Georgetown, making the system effective. 2
The initiative will accommodate the use of broadband handsets by the Guyana Police Force (GPF), allowing for additional information to be channelled to the command centre 1
In 2020, Prime Minister Mark Philips was interviewed, and explained that there were now over 450 cameras. He also detailed the deliverables in healthcare and education. The smart systems had been rolled out to 11 secondary schools. The introduction of healthcare video conferencing was also part of the project, which Huawei also introduced.
“The money was to be expended towards the, expansion and upgrading of the E-Government network to improve the efficacy of government services in the areas of smart government solutions, smart education, smart healthcare and a safe city solution. Also, the equipping of a data centre, the equipping of a unified emergency call centre and, training and human resource capacity building. The National Data Management Authority was mandated to facilitate the technical implementation of the Guyana National Broadband Contract on behalf of the Guyana Government, with Huawei Technologies being the turnkey supplier and installer,” he added. But security concerns were raised and among them were the company’s access to advanced data systems here and the use of facial recognition technology in one component of the programme. Phillips said that security concerns by the public have been heard and that measures would be put in place to guard against breaches, although he did not explain in detail how this would be done 3
References
- a b "$84M Security Command Centre for police -ranks to carry broadband handsets". (2019) <https://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2019/08/25/84m-security-command-centre-for-police-ranks-to-carry-broadband-handsets/> Accessed: 2022-11-25
- a b c "Smart City surveillance cameras operational …Chinese-built system has facial, car licence recognition capacity". (2019) <https://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2019/07/28/smart-city-surveillance-cameras-operational-chinese-built-system-has-facial-car-licence-recognition-capacity/> Accessed: 2022-11-25
- a b "PM says gov’t continuing with China-funded broadband project". (2020) <https://www.stabroeknews.com/2020/11/08/news/guyana/pm-says-govt-continuing-with-china-funded-broadband-project/> Accessed: 2022-11-25