Utilisation of data

The possibilities of utilising data are being advanced in Savilahti, starting from the telecommunications infrastructure. The area is used for testing a new implementation model for telecommunications infrastructure in which the City takes a larger role than usual in the construction of a protection tube network for optical fibres. The protection tube network is for the most part implemented using so-called microtube technology, which enables the easy installation of new fibre optic connections without excavation work. The City will lease out its tubes impartially to all parties who need them. In the future, microtubes will facilitate the installation of 5G networks and reduce road construction work and traffic interruptions resulting from cabling work.

In addition, a smart city platform that utilises Savilahti’s new telecommunications infrastructure and enables more efficient processing of data to support decision-making and everyday choices of city residents, such as promoting low-carbon emissions and circular economy and enabling new business and RDI activities, was developed in the form of the Datajalostamo project. The smart city platform was designed to enable the City, businesses, educational institutions, and other actors to utilise it in the creation of their own smart solutions and applications in a flexible, secure and affordable manner. These solutions could, for example, streamline traffic, help drivers find a parking space or enable the surplus electricity produced by solar panels to be sold back to the electricity grid.

The smart city platform consists of fast and reliable data connections, technical systems, and the operating rules and management model related to their utilisation. In addition to the technical solutions, it is therefore necessary to decide who will uphold the telecommunications network and the smart city platform, what kind of data may be collected with the various systems, who will own the data, how the data will be utilised and combined, and how it will be stored. These plans must enable the flexible development of the smart city platform, as smart solutions develop and advance in different fields. Future developments should be prepared for as carefully as possible, while bearing in mind the risk of vendor lock-ins.