TelOne in push for smart cities

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TELONE says local cities and towns should take advantage of the telecommunications company’s capabilities in creating modernised communities.
The fixed telecommunications operator, which has been targeted for partial privatisation, has partnered with Mutare to develop a “Smart City concept”.
Speaking at the Manicaland Smartcities Summit in Mutare on Friday, Jeremiah Munembe, TelOne’s innovation executive, said other towns and cities could also benefit from the company’s assistance.
“There are many digital solutions that can be implemented in the modernisation of our cities, but what brings these things together is connectivity and that is what TelOne offers. We have got the biggest fiber network in country,” he said.
“We have got the skills to assist cities, towns, councils in implementing these smart solutions. We have got an ecosystem of manufacturers and suppliers.
“These digital solutions are generally data intensive so TelOne can help the authorities with that as well because we have the biggest data centres in the country,” he added.
The company has data centres in Harare, Bulawayo and Mazowe with another being set up in Mutare.
He said there was an opportunity for the setting up of control centres that can monitor things like utilities.
“Health systems, education centres, and transport systems can also be hooked up to such control centres,” he said.
Munembe said “smart” solutions that can be implemented include video surveillance, traffic enforcement as well as parking and traffic monitoring and control.
TelOne’s roll out of a proof of concept to the city of Mutare will start with traffic road rules monitoring.
“This partnership will see TelOne implementing red light violation camera’s, speed camera and public cameras across the city.
“City of Mutare will be able to automatically fine law violations leading to improved revenue collections,” Munembe said.
Speaking at the same event, the Minister of State for Manicaland, Ellen Gwaradzimba, praised the “Smart City” concept saying that it was critically necessary.
“Becoming a smart city is no longer an option or an ideal of aesthetics but a requirement that allows our cities to forcefully tackle current global challenges such as climate change, scarcity of resources and issues of sustainability.
“As devolution dawns before us, we want to promote new forms of governance and public participation, by making intelligent decisions at a strategic level so as to become smart,” she said.
“In the Manicaland that we want, the Smart City that we aspire for Mutare to be, we hope to incorporate new energy, traffic, mining, agriculture, health, waste management, security, retail, home and office, and transport concepts that go easy on the environment,” she added.
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