The race for digital dominance: What it means for ‘Mission Barbados’

I bet if you asked most people in the West what the next world war would look like, they would likely imagine a traditional armed conflict, simply enhanced by modern technology.

But that assumption overlooks two critical realities: first, that we now live in a deeply globalised world; and second, that the true endgame of war has always been — and remains — economic power.

In truth, the next world war isn’t some distant event on the horizon. It is already unfolding between the only two true superpowers: China and the United States. And I’m not just referring to the tariff wars we’ve witnessed.

Both China and the US understand that in this era, technology is the new territory for economic expansion. In the past, wars were fought over physical land and the wealth it could produce. Today, thanks to globalisation and modernisation, the world has effectively “shrunk” — and the new battleground for economic dominance is technological advancement.

If that is the case — and it is — then China has just dropped a new kind of ‘digital bomb’: the launch of the world’s first 10G city.

Huawei and China Unicom have jointly rolled out the first 10G broadband network in Sunan County, Hebei Province, according to Azernews, citing the local tech outlet Mydrivers.

This breakthrough leverages the globally leading 50G PON (Passive Optical Network) technology, dramatically enhancing the core architecture of the fibre access network. The result is a quantum leap in performance, boosting speeds from traditional gigabit levels to 10G, while reducing network latency to just a few milliseconds.

In a real-world test, a household connected to the network achieved download speeds of 9 834 Mbps, upload speeds of 1 008 Mbps, and maintained latency at an incredibly low three milliseconds.

To put that into perspective: downloading a full-length 4K movie, which typically takes 7–10 minutes on a good 1Gbps connection (and remembering that in Barbados, even the best “1Gbps” offerings rarely achieve that in practice), would take less than 10 seconds on this new 10G network.

This development represents a major milestone in China’s digital infrastructure ambitions and signals the dawn of a new era in ultra-high-speed connectivity — one where the ability to innovate, trade, and dominate economically will be shaped not by geography, but by the speed and power of technology.

While I have long maintained that Barbados — and much of the wider Caribbean — does not yet need 5G speeds, much less the capabilities of a 10G network, the reality is that the justification for Telcos like Digicel and Cable and Wireless (FLOW) to invest heavily in such expensive, leading-edge technology simply isn’t there, yet.

This gap stems largely from the fact that true digital transformation continues to elude our region. If we are to fully benefit even from what 4G has to offer, we must first build the foundations:

• Easily accessible fintech services,
• Vibrant digital businesses, and
• An open digital ecosystem where the sharing of information and data naturally creates the demand for faster, more sophisticated networks.

Without these critical components, the Caribbean risks falling even further behind — not for lack of technology, but for lack of the digital maturity required to harness it.

Recognising this reality, the Government of Barbados has introduced Mission Barbados — a bold national transformation agenda designed to build a world-class, people-centred society by 2030.

Mission Barbados serves as the official framework for national development, adopting a mission-driven, challenge-based approach that emphasises the need to mobilise the entire society — including the public sector, private sector, and civil society — to collectively address the country’s most pressing challenges.

Technology will be central to achieving the ambitions of Mission Barbados, offering practical solutions across each of the six major national challenges.

In addressing low levels of well-being, digital health platforms, telemedicine services, and national e-learning systems can expand access to quality healthcare, education, and social services, especially for marginalised communities.

To reduce social instability, technology enables greater financial inclusion through fintech solutions, supports data-driven social programmes that better target assistance where it is needed most, and opens new pathways to employment through digital skills training initiatives and online job marketplaces.

Overcoming development deficits will require investment in building a vibrant digital entrepreneurship ecosystem, expanding infrastructure to support remote work opportunities, and modernising traditional industries such as tourism through smart technologies like augmented reality and mobile-first engagement platforms.

In the fight against environmental degradation, smart energy management systems, climate data analytics, and citizen engagement applications can monitor environmental risks, optimise resource use, and foster widespread participation in building a more sustainable and resilient future.

Strengthening governance and trust will depend heavily on the deployment of e-government platforms to streamline citizen services, securing public records, and the promotion of open data initiatives that foster greater transparency, accountability, and citizen engagement.

Finally, addressing inequitable digital access and technological lag will involve expanding national broadband coverage, implementing public Wi-Fi programmes in underserved communities, and launching digital literacy campaigns to ensure that all Barbadians are equipped to fully participate in and benefit from the digital economy.

In each of these critical areas, technology acts not merely as an enabler, but as the essential foundation upon which sustainable, inclusive, and transformational national development must be built.

If Barbados and the wider Caribbean are to effectively compete on the modern battlefield — where economic power is determined by technological prowess — we must stop treating digital infrastructure as optional.

Technology must become the backbone of our national strategy, connecting ambition to real-world outcomes, driving innovation, and ensuring that no citizen is left behind in the race for global relevance.

steven@dataprivacy.bb