Nokia joins 'Smart Tampere' initiative

NEW DELHI: Nokia has joined 'Smart Tampere', an initiative to introduce smart city services that will foster economic development and improve the daily lives of citizens in Tampere, Finland.

Smart Tampere brings together local companies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), local government and citizens to explore how digital technologies can be implemented in areas such as smart mobility, e-health, smart lighting, smart energy, extended user experience and more.

Smart Tampere is a city-wide economic policy intended to create a living lab in which technology solutions can be explored, tested and ultimately deployed to improve the lives of citizens and make the city more attractive to businesses and visitors. Through city planning Tampere has been able to ensure public and private investments of 6-10 Billion Euro to turn Tampere into a smarter city by 2030.

Nokia - which has a strong track-record developing solutions for smart, sustainable cities - will leverage its expertise in key technologies in areas such as 5G and the Internet of Things (IoT) that are widely expected to play a critical role in the development of smart cities.

Nokia's participation in this initiative is its second such effort in Europe following a project announced last year with Bristol is Open in the U.K. The announcement also follows the launch late in 2016 of the Smart City Playbook, a strategy report commissioned by Nokia and developed by Machina Research that documents best practices for smart cities.

Tommi Uitto, Finland country head, Nokia, said: "The city of Tampere has a history of innovation, and Nokia - one of the world's leading technology innovators - has a long history with the Tampere region, where the company got its start. Working together to explore the potential of digital technologies to make cities smarter is good for both Nokia and Tampere. The learnings we are able to glean from this collaboration will benefit Tampere's citizens, companies and visitors, and can also be carried forward into similar collaborations with other cities around the world."

Tero Blomqvist, Smart Tampere Program Director, said: "The people of Tampere are making a substantial commitment to putting our city at the forefront of smart city development. Working with Nokia is a natural fit, as a company that has played such an important role in the development of the modern economy here in Tampere and in the country at large."