aconium at Connected Germany

On December 6 and 7, the Connected Germany congress trade fair took place in the Rheingoldhalle in Mainz. aconium was right in the middle of it and Managing Director Tim Brauckmüller, Rick Trojahn and the entire trade fair team left a lasting impression. The trade fair and aconium covered a wide range of topics, from smart cities, fiber optic expansion and 5G networks to the sustainability of digital infrastructures.

The congress trade fair served as a platform for exchange between the public sector, industry and associations on the topic of networking and the expansion of nationwide, convergent networks at gigabit speeds. With over 1000 delegates and 120 speakers, Connected Germany brought together experts, decision-makers, investors and numerous companies to exchange ideas and form partnerships.

Alexander Schweitzer’s keynote speech was eagerly awaited. The Minister of Labour, Social Affairs, Transformation and Digitalization in Rhineland-Palatinate focused on the topic of broadband expansion and digitalization in his speech. Rhineland-Palatinate presented its digital strategy in October, focusing on the nationwide expansion of broadband and mobile communications, as well as data protection and the promotion of new digital innovations. Funding and investment were the main topics at the event. Other important topics at the trade fair included the standardization of modern, so-called alternative installation methods, open access, price increases due to inflation and the Russian war of aggression as well as the shortage of skilled workers that everyone in the industry is complaining about.

Sustainable digital infrastructures

One important topic is the sustainability of digital infrastructures. Tim Brauckmüller, Managing Director of aconium, took part in the panel “Digital infrastructures and Germany’s sustainable future”. Together with Alexander Rabe, Managing Director of eco – Association of the Internet Industry and Therese Seiringer, Head of Sustainability at Vodafone, he discussed the possibilities of how digital infrastructures can become greener and more sustainable. He pointed out that there is still a lot of untapped potential here: “Digital infrastructures and sustainability need to be considered much more together. This also applies to regulation, for example, where there are many different EU directives in several sectors. Intersectoral thinking must begin here. We should agree on minimum standards and standardize common interfaces, for example.” Brauckmüller sees potential savings in the municipal sector: “We will see many public transport projects in the municipal sector where significant energy savings can be made thanks to the establishment of 5G networks. But here, too, we have to look at the entire value chain and bear in mind that sustainable investments can often be higher at the beginning than short-term, unsustainable expenditure.” However, according to the aconium Managing Director, even very practical approaches, such as the use of waste heat from data centers and the local disposal of expansion waste during fiber optic expansion, can be a start for more sustainable digital infrastructures.

Smart places – digital communities

aconium GmbH was represented by Rick Trojahn, Head of Innovation, in another exciting panel discussion. Rick Trojahn discussed digital development in rural regions with Peter Siebert, Head of Smart Cities & Regions, DigitalAgentur Brandenburg GmbH and Neven Josipovic, Chief Innovation Officer, City of Braunschweig, among others. aconium has gained and continues to gain important experience in implementing various projects and providing intensive advice to local authorities on the topic of “smart regions”. Rick Trojahn pointed out how well cities and regions can develop through a data-driven ecosystem. For a municipality, the urban infrastructure is not only extremely important, but also always an ideal starting point for collecting and using data. Rick Trojahn puts it like this: “Infrastructure is the foundation for everything. A high-performance broadband network is extremely important. Municipalities and cities can develop a wide range of services on this basis. Networking start-ups and public administration is just one of many major challenges.”

One example in which aconium GmbH is currently helping to develop smart regions is the Ilz river in the south-eastern Bavarian Forest. As part of the competition “Model Projects Smart Cities: Urban Development and Digitalization”, the digital transformation of municipalities into a strategic, integrated, sustainable and public welfare-oriented space is taking place. Taking into account all contributions from the population and interest groups, and in close cooperation with the Smart City Team of Ilzer Land e.V., aconium is currently working on writing the “Smart Country Strategy”. This is to be presented to the public in the spring of next year

5G – Expansion

Everyone is talking about 5G mobile technology and it is being expanded further and further. The main part of the event on the 2nd day of the congress in Mainz revolved around this topic. The next expansion stage of the mobile network is in full swing, but there are still gaps, especially in rural areas. Just like politicians, companies are interested in implementing mobile communications construction projects in order to close gaps in coverage and strengthen the existing network. aconium has a wealth of expertise in the 5G sector and demonstrated this at its stand. Among other things, aconium GmbH supported the state of Brandenburg in the state-wide inventory and analysis of the current mobile coverage situation of the telecommunications companies in the state in order to support the planning of mobile application scenarios and a targeted expansion of mobile coverage in Brandenburg. On behalf of DigitalAgentur Brandenburg GmbH (DABB), aconium GmbH carried out surveys of the road network in Brandenburg in 2020/21 to analyze mobile coverage. Selected regions were surveyed again in 2021 to document changes in network quality and progress in 5G expansion.