The inter-municipal model project “#Aalen -HeidenheimGemeinsamDigital” is intended to sustainably increase the quality of life and work in the cities of Aalen and Heidenheim with the help of digital technologies. The federal government is providing comprehensive funding for this purpose, thus opening up the opportunity for the cities of Aalen and Heidenheim to take on a pioneering role in digital urban development in the East Württemberg region and beyond, thus tapping into the potential of digitalization for the purpose of the common good.

The basis and starting point of the cooperation project is the development of a holistic planning of the telecommunications infrastructure.

The holistic planning of the telecommunications infrastructure enables the actual and target presentation of various infrastructure components such as fiber optics, mobile communications (2G to 5G) and sensor networks (low-power wide area network) for both cities and forms the basis for the medium to long-term final expansion into a gigabit-capable network. Planning thus also forms the infrastructural basis of the smart city strategy for Aalen and Heidenheim and all applications to be developed as part of the model project.

The planning and engineering services to be provided for this purpose consist of the following components:

- Documentation and presentation of the existing broadband infrastructure and current supply situation

- Adaptation of the FTTB master plan: rescheduling to the specifications of the new funding programs

- Broadband planning for all relevant endpoints (including FTTI) and prioritization

- Current mobile coverage

- Development of a rough mobile phone planning (4G/5G)

- Development of a design for sensor networks

- Prioritization of the necessary measures for further implementation planning

The contract is awarded as 1 lot, but a separate contract is concluded with the two cost centers (Aalen and Heidenheim).

The cities of Aalen and Heidenheim are planning to jointly procure planning and engineering services to create a holistic planning of the telecommunications infrastructure.

The guidelines of the federal government's Smart City Charter state that digital transformation requires goals, strategies and (infra-structures) as well as data and services. However, limiting the telecommunications infrastructure to fiber optics and commercial mobile communications is insufficient. The future of telecommunications infrastructure is converging.

What course must Aalen and Heidenheim set, what advance payments must be planned so that technical progress can also be taken into account in the future? The central element on this path is innovative and holistic infrastructure planning.

The holistic planning of the telecommunications infrastructure describes the convergence of different technologies and the numerous interactions and dependencies between the sub-areas. Our telecommunications networks are very versatile — they get more complex with every innovation and every new application. In order to maintain an overview of this development and to be able to act with foresight, a synergetic approach is the means of choice. Only with this holistic approach to planning can the sustainability aspect specified by Guideline 1.1 of the federal government's Smart City Charter be met as a direction or basic requirement for future urban development.

In order to be able to start implementing the holistic planning of the telecommunications infrastructure directly during the implementation phase, but also with the implementation of the other project components, this project approach is already being developed as a general basis for both cities during the strategy phase. This provides basic infrastructure planning, the starting point for further milestones such as municipal cockpit solutions, intelligent parking management or the new city logistics approach. The holistic planning of telecommunications infrastructure is the basic framework that can be used to create a “digital twin” as a digital representation of diverse urban processes. As part of a digital urban development concept (DSEK), site-specific opportunities for digitally driven value creation are defined and tested to implement new digital urban development fields. So-called “living labs” enable applications with particularly high added value potential to be tested before they are rolled out across the board. In particular, sensor technology, 5G concept, mobile expansion including FIBER TO THE INFRASTRUCTURAL planning (FTTI), possible augmented reality applications and the “digital twin” come together in the planning process. The planning service advertised thus serves as the basis for all further activities of the smart cities of Aalen and Heidenheim.

Since all these sub-areas intertwine and build on each other, holistic telecommunications infrastructure planning is the solid foundation on which the cities of Aalen and Heidenheim can further develop their digital strategies with clear priorities and goals and make them tangible and tangible for everyone.

Today's digital infrastructure does not only consist of the fiber optic network, but also of other network levels, such as mobile networks. The 5G network currently being expanded by network operators, with its high data transmission and the possibility of real-time communication, is a prerequisite for many applications in connection with smart city projects. The 5G network requires fiber optic connections to the antenna sites and therefore both fiber and 5G networks must be in place for a smart city rollout. In addition, a multiple number of transmitter locations are required for the 5G network, as the higher frequencies reduce the range of the locations. The cities of Aalen and Heidenheim are therefore setting out to make the necessary preparations for a digital future. Key elements of the preparations include identifying possible mobile phone locations and planning the locations in the FTTB fiber optic network to ensure network convergence.

Holistic telecommunications infrastructure planning in Aalen and Heidenheim is helping to proactively shape network expansion so that all services, such as smart mobility or the implementation of comprehensive parking space management, can be used and strategically controlled at the municipal level. Co-planning mobile expansion optimizes civil engineering work, avoids duplication and thus saves costs.

With the converged network plan, future-proof plans can be carried out according to current conveying specifications. The infrastructure that has already been created will be put into value by activating stand-alone networks and will be made usable digitally for the goals of the smart city project #Aalen -Heidenheim together.

The scope of services relates to the following sub-areas (for a detailed description, see appendix service specifications):

Convergent network planning for Aalen and Heidenheim:

- Project management and reporting

- Mobile coverage

- Broadband inventory (fixed/wireless network)

- Adaptation of existing FTTB planning

- 5G mobile schema planning and LTE dead center closure

- elaboration of cost estimates

Fiber planning/rescheduling in the city area of Aalen:

- Analysis of the current situation and determination of cost reduction potential

- FTTB structure and co-installation planning according to federal funding requirements