Deutsche Telekom : "Digital Cities and Regions" initiative presents first Smart City results

• Together in record time from problem to Smart City solution
• Search for local solutions to tackle air pollution, noise and lack of parking spaces
• Strong demand from cities: Deutsche Telekom continues successful program

The Smart City program 'Digital Cities & Regions' presented its first results after just three months since the initial kick-off. The first pilot projects are scheduled to go live by the end of the year. With this joint initiative, Deutsche Telekom and the German Association of Towns and Municipalities (DStGB - Deutscher Städte- und Gemeindebund) are supporting cities and municipalities on their way to a digital future. Due to the successful launch and high demand, the program will be continued in 2019.

Improving the quality of life together

The initiative's collaborative approach paves the way for the first digital applications in cities. For the DStGB, the community idea is a key success factor: 'The close exchange of know-how and procedures between the cities promotes a better understanding of the necessary transformation processes,' emphasizes Dr. Gerd Landsberg, CEO of the DStGB. Deutsche Telekom has followed the same path of active collaboration , and sees this rapid success as confirmation: 'The concept is working. We are now further developing several prototypes together. Due to the high demand, we will continue to offer the program,' says Markus Keller, responsible for Smart City at Deutsche Telekom.

Intelligent use of knowledge and data

Since the launch in mid-July, 23 cities from all over Germany have participated in the program, with very different requirements. The most urgent calls for action in the area of mobility are the lack of affordable parking spaces, growing delivery traffic and the associated air pollution and noise emissions. City administrations also need to be modernized. Digital citizen services are increasingly part of the basic equipment of a modern city or municipal administration. Citizens can formulate their wishes already in the planning phase and give valuable impulses with their knowledge. In this way, they actively shape their future living space - simply by app. Urban planners should also benefit even more from early citizen participation. Data that has already been collected but is still untapped can be used to design the city of tomorrow even more profitably. In particular, data provides valuable information for demand and capacity planning (housing, transport, day-care centers, etc.). Until now, there was a lack of suitable tools for combining and evaluating the data. Here, too, a solution is now on the way. Cities and municipalities will be implementing their first pilot projects as early as the turn of the year.

'Co-creation' as a successful concept

There is method behind the rapid progress of the project. Deutsche Telekom's team of experts relies on co-creation. Observing and understanding the needs of users is the first step in cooperation. What do the communities and citizens want to improve? Synergy effects between city and company also shorten the time to develop a solution. The cities are actively involved in the design process, from the creation and the prototyping to the final application. They can therefore influence the best possible solution for their community from the very beginning.

More information about the cooperation with the DStGB can be found here.