119
Good Practice
Environment
Global Compact International Yearbook 2013
functions. In 2009, two complete districts
of Friedrichshafenwith 1,600 households
were networked, thereby taking the first
step toward a
smart grid
.
The pilot also
allowed the project planners to test the
basic functions and use the smart meters
in different building / residential and
installation situations. Billing options
that enable new rate plans, thereby en-
couraging customers to save electricity,
were also introduced. The findings from
this project are being applied in the
further development of the completely
connected home. Smart-metering solu-
tions have now been installed for a num-
ber of customers throughout Germany.
According to SMARTer2020*, the smart
grid sector could potentially result in a
reduction of about 2 Gt CO
2
equivalent
overall by 2020.
T-City has also piloted models for fu-
ture mobility, which customers through-
out Germany are now able to use: The
“
real-time ridesharing” service offered by
flinc, a company from Darmstadt, medi-
ates ridesharing options quickly and on
the move, even for short journeys. The
service enables drivers and passengers to
find each other automatically. All users
need is a smartphone. Real-time rideshar-
ing connects the driver’s internet-capable
navigation software with the smartphones
of potential passengers. Using a real-time
analysis of traffic movements, the system
can tell the passenger in just a few seconds
about rides available in cars on their re-
quested route. The driver says howmuch
he wants to charge in cents per kilometer.
The smartphone app uses this figure to
calculate the ride price and enables the
passenger to make a price comparison of
the various rides available, as well as to
pay without cash using a one-click pay-
ment system. To use the service, users
must first register on an online platform
and enroll for cashless payment.
Building on successes
Overall, more than 40 projects from all
areas of life have been implemented
in five years. Based on positive expe-
riences from the T-City project, the
City of Friedrichshafen and Deutsche
Telekom agreed in December 2011 to
continue to work together for another
three years. This further collaboration
is to concentrate rigorously on major
social challenges. The projects focus
on the issues of energy, transportation,
and healthcare, with partners building
on previous successes. In the area of
energy, the aim is to improve security
of supply and save energy costs. In the
area of transportation, the plan is to push
ahead with the networking of different
forms of transport, to reduce traffic, and
–
through progressive mobility systems –
to protect the environment directly and
indirectly. And finally, healthcare will be
made safer and more affordable through
technological developments.
By carefully piloting the technolo-
gies and through direct customer feed-
back, future products and services will
be optimized at an early stage. At the
same time, potential partners and cus-
tomers have the opportunity to check
out solutions locally for themselves. In
this way, Deutsche Telekom directly
helps to research, improve, and propa-
gate forward-looking, environmentally-
friendly technologies.
*
Global eSustainability Initiative (2012):
SMARTer2020 – The Role of ICT in Driving
a Sustainable Future.