BUSINESS: 532 PRACTICES
Vodafone Greece is a leading telecommunications provider of mobile and fixed telephony, internet and TV services. Investing in digital infrastructure, Vodafone is recognised as a partner that credibly supports the needs of businesses and consumers.
Read more: www.vodafone.gr
At Vodafone we believe that with our digital technologies we can empower regional communities and enable the citizens who live in them to participate equally in economic and social progress. We know that access to digital infrastructure can help citizens improve their livelihoods, enable businesses to thrive, make society more resilient and transform the way we live. Fast, reliable, connectivity is social for economic growth and prosperity. Next generation networks are vital for creating new jobs, facilitating remote working and strengthening local public services.
We support the green and digital transition of Chalki by developing our network and providing innovative digital tools that bring new possibilities to the island's residents and economy, while helping to transform the island into a sustainable, regional community and a pilot model in the European Union.
Permanent residents of the island of Chalkis in the Dodecanese as well as its visitors.
The program was launched in November 2021.
Vodafone completed the upgrade of the island's connectivity with the 5G Green Giga Network and implemented the provision of a public wi-fi network that covers the public areas of the settlement of Halki for free, opening up new opportunities and possibilities for the local economy, with the aim of contributing to the upgrading its production model. At the same time, by providing Internet of Things (IoT) services to the municipality (Vodafone IoT Fleet Control), we offer better control and reduction of fuel consumption in its fleet, as well as the ability to monitor its vehicles, in real time.
Deeply believing in the "twin transition" to a green and digital future, Vodafone is actively supporting the transformation of Halki into a model of sustainability and sustainable development, offering networks that will catalyze the adoption of green technologies and contribute to reducing the environmental impact of its activities island. In addition, combining green and digital technologies, Vodafone installed the "smart", solar bench with the ability to charge an electric wheelchair for the disabled and mobile phone chargers powered by solar energy.
Leveraging the Greek innovation of Vodafone Innovus - a global research and development center of the Vodafone group and a subsidiary of Vodafone Greece, the Vodafone Foundation added Halki to the Telemedicine Program, showing how digital health applications can eliminate the distances and travel needs that under normal conditions would be required to carry out health examinations. In addition, the Foundation created the model STEM lab Generation Next, which will offer extracurricular technology training and skill development opportunities to the island's youth as part of the "Generation Next" digital skills development educational program implemented by the Vodafone Foundation in collaboration with the Non-Profit Science-Communication Organization SciCo and the "Hellenic German Education" schools since 2017. Already in the summer during the Generation Next Summer Camp of the Vodafone Foundation, a Mobile app was created for the island's tourists.
Halki, Dodecanese
The action took place within the framework of the GR-eco Islands national initiative which aims to transform the islands of Greece into models of green economy, energy self-sufficiency, digital innovations and sustainable mobility. The project is a partnership between Greek and French companies, under the coordination of the Ministry of Environment and Energy and the auspices of the French Embassy in Greece.
In order to quickly and efficiently implement all of Vodafone's various interventions on the island of Chalkis, various departments of the Company collaborated in a fruitful and productive manner. The initial conception of all those interventions that would be worth piloting on the island of Chalki belongs to the Sustainable Development Department of the Company. Subsequently, the Network Development Department worked intensively to ensure all the necessary conditions regarding the implementation of the 5G network as well as addressing various technical problems that arose during the network development phase. The Legal Department of the Company efficiently managed the details of the agreement both in the context of the general GR Eco Island initiative and in particular with the cooperation with the Municipality of Chalkis. Finally, the Vodafone Foundation strengthened the effort by contributing its know-how and flexibly adapting the Programs it implements to the special needs and realities of the island of Chalkis.
The benefits of Vodafone's initiative on the island of Chalki are multiplied:
a) to the approximately 500 residents of the island who benefit from Vodafone's free public Wi-Fi network on the island, while at the same time, through the Telemedicine Program of the Vodafone Foundation, they gain free access to high-level specialized health services such as, for example, cardiogram and spirometry.
b) to the students of the island who can make use of the Generation Next STEM LAB in order to familiarize themselves with new technologies while strengthening their digital skills.
c) to the island's visitors who benefit both from the high-level 5G network and from the possibility of staying on the island in order to work (digital nomads) strengthening the local economy in many ways.
