Speaking to the gathered throngs at the Mobile World Congress in Shanghai, Xu claimed the country will hit 75 million FTTR installations by the end of 2025, compared to just half a million everywhere else.

For those not in the know FTTR (Fibre-To-The-Room) extends fibre optic internet beyond the building entry point into each room, offering ultra-fast, stable connectivity everywhere in the home or office. It eliminates Wi-Fi dead zones, supports low-latency activities like gaming and video conferencing, and is ideal for smart homes and high-device environments. While itis expensive to install, it future-proofs buildings for advanced digital demands and allows telecom providers to offer premium services.

Xu pitched FTTR as a game-changer for businesses, promising better speeds, fewer Wi-Fi dead zones and more flexibility to deploy connected gear across offices. He added that telcos stand to benefit too, with FTTR enabling them to flog pricier packages on the back of that enhanced connectivity.

Huawei’s boss  told telecom firms to chase after heavy data users like delivery riders and livestream influencers. According to Xu, delivery riders will make up five per cent of the global workforce by 2030 and are already using four times more voice minutes and twice the data of your average punter. Influencers, meanwhile, are five times the data hogs and bring in four times the revenue.

Xu urged operators to team up with platforms to stream more high-resolution video and called for better efficiency in both networking gear and consumer devices. He said Huawei would be more than happy to help carriers hit any of those targets, naturally.