• The telecommunications operator joins the board of the i2CAT Foundation to strengthen its research and development projects in the digital field.

  • The collaboration between Parlem and i2CAT will begin with two 5G pilot projects in the metropolitan area of Barcelona.

  • The alliance of both organisations will allow to develop innovative initiatives within the world of telecommunications.

Barcelona, 23 February 2021. – Parlem Telecom and the i2CAT Foundation have signed a strategic alliance by which the Catalan telecommunications operator joins the board of the research centre with the aim of strengthening its research projects and development, as well as to contribute to the digitalisation of Catalan society as a whole. With this agreement, Parlem Telecom is committed to investing in innovative initiatives developed by i2CAT in the Catalan telecommunications field.

 

The President of the i2CAT Foundation, the Minister of Digital Policies and Public Administration, Jordi Puigneró, emphasised that “strategic alliances such as the one formalized between the i2CAT Foundation and Parlem Telecom are essential because knowledge of excellence in advanced digital technologies available to the centre contribute to

 

boosting the Catalan ICT sector, to generate new business opportunities and to have a positive impact on society as a whole and the companies in the country.”

 

In the words of Ernest Pérez-Mas, CEO of Parlem Telecom, this alliance “strengthens our leadership in the Catalan ICT sector and allows us to collaborate with a key player in the field of digital research, such as the i2CAT Foundation.” It is, in short, an agreement that “will allow us to be an influential telecommunications operator in the priority innovation projects that Catalonia needs to be at the forefront of digital, such as those linked to 5G technology.”

With the signing of this agreement, Parlem Telecom joins the board of trustees of i2CAT in the Generalitat de Catalunya, Barcelona City Council, the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, the Universitat Ramon Llull, the Universitat Pompeu Fabra, the Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Orange, Cellnex, Juniper Networks, CISCO, Vodafone, Fujitsu and Mediapro.

Designing the digital society of the future

One of the strategic objectives of the i2CAT Foundation is to articulate and encourage the adoption of advanced digital technologies by companies and collaborating with them to co-develop innovative solutions and products that allow them to solve challenges and needs of both companies and of society.

The expertise of the research centre in 5G innovation projects, among other disruptive digital technologies, is put at the service of companies to generate a direct impact in the different economic sectors. The incorporation of Parlem Telecom in the entity’s board of trustees responds to this objective of collaborating with the Catalan ICT sector to provide the most innovative aspect and launch tractor projects in the field of telecommunications networks, where currently 5G is already generating new business opportunities.

The first of the initiatives to be carried out jointly by Parlem Telecom and the i2CAT Foundation will be a double pilot project linked to 5G technology and which will take place in the metropolitan area of Barcelona. The pilot tests will focus on autonomous and sustainable mobility and the promotion of augmented reality in commercial environments. The two tests are part of the 5G Catalunya project, which is part of the Red.es call for 5G pilots. More details of both performances will be known soon.