How smart is Germany and what network structures are needed to implement innovative projects in urban and rural areas? We discussed this with international industry colleagues at Connected Germany in Munich on December 5 and 6.
Every year, the congress trade fair brings together everyone involved in building next-generation networks. Participants from the public sector, industry and associations take the opportunity to exchange views on current industry topics, discover new perspectives and forge partnerships. aconium GmbH was on site with its own stand, took part in several panels and accompanied the event as the main sponsor of the Smart Germany Track.
Around 1,200 participants, 400 organizations, 150 speakers and 80 exhibitors were expected at Connected Germany. Unfortunately, the heavy snowfall in Munich made the journey difficult. Despite this, many participants came to the trade fair in a good mood and engaged in discussions in an informal atmosphere. The extensive program was divided into five key topics: Gigabit Germany, Network Expansion, Digital Germany, Smart Germany and Startup Germany.
At the “Leaders Forum – Germany’s mobile future”, our Managing Director Tim Brauckmüller, Walter Haas (CTO, Huawei) and Valentina Daiber (CEO, Telefonica) discussed the development of the mobile communications market in Germany, the role of mobile networks in the German government’s gigabit strategy and necessary investments. Dr. Frederic Ufer, Managing Director of VATM, moderated the panel.
Through our projects in the field of smart regions and mobile communications, we are familiar with the challenges of cooperation between business and the public sector and can mediate here. “We provide support in implementing the necessary and possible procedures for setting up the mobile communications network, for example with mobile communications measurements or analyses of the topography and local conditions as well as the involvement of citizens,” says Tim Brauckmüller.
Wilko Westphal, Smart Regions Project Manager at aconium GmbH, focused on small municipalities at the “Smart Places and Digital Cities” panel. He discussed with Pierre Filohn (Strategic Development Manager BABLE Smart Cities), Susanne Klöpping (Head of Digitization & Sustainability, Smart City/Smart Region Bavarian State Ministry for Digital Affairs) and Anita Kleiber (Project Coordination Digital Infrastructure City of Freiburg) how smart rural municipalities already are and emphasized that participation in digital and smart city projects is crucial and should be further strengthened.
Our expert Alexander Hörmann explained in the panel “Intelligent transport and intelligent mobility” with Julia Wielgosch (Senior Economist WIK GmbH), Patrick Blume (Head of Product Portfolio Urban Mobility Mercedes-Benz AG) and Mara Cole (Shared & Connected Mobility City of Munich) how different mobility requirements of urban and rural populations can look and what this means for their financing concepts, for example. “On the one hand, mobility concepts must have a holistic character, but they must also be individually designed,” Hörmann emphasized.
Together with the VATM, we invited our industry colleagues to the Wirtshaus zur Trabrennbahn to round off the first day of the trade fair. There, we were able to make new plans for the coming year together in a relaxed atmosphere. We look forward to further smart city and smart mobility projects that will make Germany’s regions fit for the future!