The Most Smart City is the most important category in the competition. Its aim is to promote innovative solutions implemented by local government units across Poland that effectively combine modern technologies with the needs of local communities in cities and regions. In recognizing Orange Polska’s implementation of solutions in Bolesławiec, the jury praised the comprehensiveness of the investment and consistency in the city’s strategic development thinking.
– Smart City solutions in Poland are no longer exclusively the domain of metropolitan areas. Increasingly, smaller towns are also adopting such solutions, appreciating the benefits for residents, the environment and the budget. Bolesławiec is unquestionably one of the leaders in this area, having gradually implemented an Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem since 2018. It consists of solutions such as Smart Water—a remote water-meter reading and failure-identification system; Smart Lights—a city-lighting management system; Smart Bikes—a city bicycle system; and Smart Sensors—an air-quality sensor system, says Małgorzata Ciechomska, head of IoT marketing at Orange Polska.
She adds: – We are very pleased that this has been noticed and appreciated by the competition jury. As many as 88 Polish cities already use Orange Smart City solutions, and more will join them soon.
The digital transformation of cities using IoT solutions translates into improvements for residents, savings in municipal budgets and benefits for the natural environment—lower resource consumption and lower CO2 emissions. Thanks to an integrated, intelligent urban structure, the efficiency of municipal investments and the operations of municipal services and companies increases, while the city develops in a more sustainable way.
In Bolesławiec, 1,220 users have already traveled 29,356 km on Smart Bikes. Thanks to the Smart Lights system, more than 2,800 kWh of energy had also been saved by mid-2021, which means a reduction in CO2 emissions of more than 2 million tons. Smart Water, meanwhile, provides 48,000 automatic readings from more than 2,000 meters and more than 600 alerts annually, helping prevent abuses and making it easier to resolve failures.
– Bolesławiec has extensive municipal infrastructure. We implemented Orange Smart City services with the city’s future in mind. I remember the project’s beginnings and concerns about how residents would receive the innovative concept based on Internet of Things technology. However, we took on this challenge, and now every day we appreciate the benefits of modern urban solutions, says Piotr Roman, president of Bolesławiec. – Water, bicycles, air and lamps are managed consistently through a single system. Everything happens remotely and incredibly quickly. For the first time, we have access to such a large amount of diverse data in real time. This allows us to manage the city more efficiently, care for the environment and respond to residents’ needs.
Orange Polska received a second award in the e-services category for the City Management Platform—a system enabling comprehensive management of the entire IoT environment: devices, communications and data. This is Orange’s proprietary solution. Data sent by the devices making up urban systems—both via GSM networks and other technologies—are integrated by the platform and made available in real time in one place, along with reports, analyses and recommendations presented in a user-friendly dashboard. This streamlines the management of municipal services, decision-making and investment planning.
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