Parlem Telecom and the i2CAT Foundation join forces to digitalize the Catalan society

23/02/2021
  • The telecommunications operator adheres to the i2CAT Foundation’s board of trustees to reinforce its digital research and development projects
  • The cooperation between both organizations will start with two 5G pilot projects in the Greater Barcelona area
  • The alliance will allow for the development of innovative initiatives in the telecom sector

Parlem Telecom and the i2CAT Foundation have signed a strategic alliance by which the Catalan telecommunications operator joins the research center’s board of trustees in order to strengthen its research and development projects, as well as to contribute to the digitization 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 Catalan Minister of Digital Policy and Public Administration, Mr. Jordi Puigneró, has emphasized that “strategic alliances such as the one formalized between the i2CAT Foundation and Parlem Telecom are essential to guarantee that the knowledge of excellence in advanced digital technologies that the center holds effectively contributes to promote the Catalan ICT sector, to generate new business opportunities and to positively impact on society as a whole and on the country’s companies ”.

In the words of Ernest Pérez-Mas, CEO of Parlem Telecom, this alliance “reinforces 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 within the priority innovation projects that Catalonia needs to be at the forefront of the digital world, such as those linked to 5G technology.”

By signing this agreement, Parlem Telecom joins a group of trustees that include the Government of Catalonia, the Barcelona City Council, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Universitat Ramon Llull, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 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, collaborating with them to co-develop innovative solutions and products that can solve the challenges and needs of both companies and the society.

The center’s expertise in 5G innovation projects, among other disruptive digital technologies, is at the service of companies to generate a direct impact in a variety of economic sectors. The incorporation of Parlem Telecom in the board of the entity responds to this goal of cooperating with the Catalan ICT sector to foster innovation and launch strategic projects in the field of telecommunications networks, where 5G is currently 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 pilots will focus on autonomous and sustainable mobility and on the promotion of augmented reality in shopping environments. The two tests are part of the 5G Catalunya project, framed in the Red.es call for 5G pilots. More details will be announced soon.