Altice Portugal joins ANMP in its strategy for Smart Cities through a national tour

It is considered that technology can be a solution in the new decentralization policy, developing dynamics to improve the lives of citizens, creating more competencies and resources. Finally, take advantage of the dynamics to influence public policies to take better advantage of investments, such as, for example, the means of communication in marked degradation.

Miguel de Castro Neto, from NOVA IMS (NOVA Information Management School), highlights the need for the ability to understand how to change the management paradigm of cities. He says that many cities already have a vertical approach, with technological solutions. In 2019, the Radar initiative began to carry out a census of cities and towns, in order to understand the technological state of each region, and thus understand what is necessary to work, namely public wifi, participatory budgets, intelligent public lighting, smart parking. , among others.

The objective is to take knowledge of the past, in order to build scenarios and face the challenges that arise. And all through the data available for academia, municipalities and companies to use in favor of citizens. The objectives are to support innovation, sustainability, resilience and security, as well as guarantee equal access to services for all.

Joo Sousa, administrator of CTT, one of the strategic partners of the project, for the third year. Despite the drop in mail, CTT has been looking for new forms of business, namely the digitization of the areas where it operates, but never forgetting that when it is necessary to do something to reach people's homes, the company is always present. Joo Sousa guarantees that the company is more flexible and today has a big stake in e-commerce, allowing companies to create businesses online, using the company's platform. It is in our DNA the creation of an ecosystem based on sustainability, referred to as a strategy. The introduction of electric vehicles led to the creation of the largest Portuguese fleet in the area of ​​deliveries.

Alexandre Fonseca, Altice Portugal administrator, highlights the company's pride in being part of the project, based on bringing more people on board, more municipalities, highlighting the importance of the theme for the strategy of bringing innovation to cities. It highlights the importance of the Smart Cities Tour in the ability to create hubs of attraction for people, whether to visit or even to live. In addition to the several hundred companies, municipalities and even citizens to contribute to the projects.

Technology is not the main tool to make cities smarter, but a vehicle, because it is people who contribute to the path of innovation. The most important asset is people and there is a need to fix these people in the national territory. It highlights the 86 million euros of Altice's investment in innovation.

He gave an example of how the investment in Viseu makes it closer to citizens, creating infrastructure to create jobs. Whether through the 1,700 jobs created directly through its call centers, or through the attraction of other companies to the city. Viseu is also home to its technological headquarters, a laboratory where solutions are developed that reach the whole world.

Antnio Almeida Henriques said in an interview with SAPO TEK that one of the greatest examples that people can see as a sign of smart cities is participatory budgeting, as well as the dematerialization of processes for contact with citizens, also a concept in the context of smart cities, or be the proximity in relation to the citizens. The participation of a hole in the street through the interaction of a citizen with the respective municipality, so that he can respond more quickly. He also mentions that the new systems of collection of urban residues allow to reward the citizens for their practical practices for practicing acts friendly to the environment. Irrigation systems are helping to save water in cities like Viseu, supported by the Circular Economy, that is, reusing water to irrigate gardens, but also to clean the streets.

According to Antnio Almeida Henriques, for the mobility area, the IBM Competence Center in Viseu is developing an application, ready in May, will allow having the MUV (Urban Mobility of Viseu) in the palm of the hand, in which the person is not your smartphone buys and validates tickets and passes, controls the timing of the bus's arrival, may be traveling and is already renting the bike at the destination or even calling a taxi to do the rest of the route, or go in your car and look for one vacant parking space in the city center, thus saving gas and emitting less CO2, he explained to SAPO TEK.

Asked about what remains for the remaining municipalities to introduce all these technologies in their ecosystem, Antnio Almeida Henriques says that first of all, there must be a strategy. Then leadership is necessary because they are often rowing against the current, continuing to do things in the traditional way. In this way more efficient, friendly to the citizen and allows to save the resources of the autarchy itself, he adds.

As a result of obtaining resources, it is an example that in the case of MUV 30 million euros were raised, in which two parties went through two international public tenders. The role of the Tour is to walk around the country showing good examples, so that other municipalities can validate it. The strategy must be personalized, as the municipalities are not all the same.

Then there are also the priority situations. For me it is more important to create the smart city and in May we will launch the Happy and Smart City in Viseu, and we went the other way, which was to do the whole journey and put the system to work and when we present it, it will be operational.

Antnio Almeida Henriques concludes by stating that currently all municipalities are already aware of the subject of smart cities, even in terms of energy efficiency or mobility. There are already 40 municipalities with integrated strategies, which considers it a good route, showing a growth, year after year, of this Tour.

Get to know the full agenda of the Smart Cities Tour 2020

Feb 12 – Circular City, Valongo

May 27 – Smart Grids and Zero Carbon Energy Communities, vora

Jun 30 – Sustainable Mobility, Covilh

Sep 29 – Smart Tourism, Monchique

Nov 4 – Smart Innovation, Oeiras

Nov 25 – Closing Session, Summit of the Mayors, Coimbra

Writing note: updated article with an interview withAntnio Almeida Henriques, from the National Association of Portuguese Municipalities.