Intelligent territory: How Finistère connects more than 270 local authorities

Finistère is using IoT technologies to transform its public services. From smart management of public lighting, to monitoring building energy consumption and optimizing parking and waste collection systems, discover the direct impact of adopting an IoT & Data platform on daily life and administrative efficiency.

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What is an intelligent territory ?

A smart territory is a region that integrates IoT (Internet of Things) technology to optimize its resources, improve the management of public services and enhance its citizens' quality of life. This concept relies on the collection and analysis of real-time data to make informed decisions. This includes the management of urban public infrastructures such as lighting, parking, water, electricity and public buildings, making the territory more pleasant to live in.

In this context, Kuzzle's open-source IoT platform is an ideal solution for local authorities wishing to develop a smart territory. It enables efficient and transparent management of IoT data, while being customizable to meet the specific needs of each community. Kuzzle's open-source approach enables local authorities to free themselves from vendor lock-in, giving them the freedom to evolve their IoT solution without external constraints. This continuous adaptation to local authority needs strengthens their autonomy and flexibility in managing their smart territories, while keeping costs under control.

What's the point of an intelligent territory?

A smart territory uses IoT to improve the quality of urban life, optimize the management of its resources and better control its expenditure, such as: 

• Making network management more reliable : Optimizing the coordination of public infrastructures thanks to advanced, unified monitoring and control systems.
• Optimizing energy resources : Significantly reduce energy consumption through intelligent management of lighting and heating in public buildings.
• Improve urban mobility : Make the transport system more efficient with intelligent traffic and parking management, reducing traffic jams and pollution.
• Optimize natural resource management : make more rational and strategic use of water and electricity, reducing wastage and costs.
• Enhance territorial management : Improved management of waste and parking spaces thanks to intelligent IoT solutions.
• Make the most of local data : use the data collected to improve public services and plan urban development more effectively.
• Enhance territorial security : Improve surveillance and faster response to incidents thanks to connected systems.
• Involve residents in public life : Encourage citizen participation in local initiatives through interactive digital tools.
• Simplify access to public services : Integrate digital services that facilitate administrative procedures and improve access to public services.
• Improve citizen engagement : Facilitate communication between citizens and administrations, improving transparency and participation in public decision-making.
  
  

The use of an IoT platform facilitates more efficient management of urban services, while promoting sustainable growth and a better quality of life for all its inhabitants, putting technology at the service of a more responsive and inclusive urban environment.

Introducing SDEF and the advantages of joining a syndicate 

The Syndicat Départemental d'Énergie et d'équipement du Finistère (SDEF) plays a crucial role in energy distribution and management for the department's 269 communes. As an Organizing Authority for Electricity Distribution (AODE), it also manages areas such as public lighting, gas and heating networks. SDEF actively supports the energy transition through the development of renewable energies and the implementation of technologies such as smart grids and infrastructure for electric vehicles.

For more details on SDEF, please visit their website.

A syndicate like SDEF brings many benefits to partner communities, including centralized management of energy infrastructure and services, and advantageous selling prices. This includes negotiating concession contracts, implementing energy-saving projects and developing smart grids. SDEF also facilitates access to technical and financial resources for the implementation of sustainable technologies, thereby improving utility management and the transition to energy autonomy.

What were Finistère's IoT needs?

To meet the challenges of management and monitoring on a departmental scale, the Finistère region needed a high-performance, flexible IoT platform. Kuzzle was asked to develop a territorial data platform to efficiently manage businesses and monitor public infrastructures via an intelligent network. This project, Smart Connect, aims to transform Finistère into an innovative connected territory.

IoT challenges
More broadly speaking, a region's IoT needs respond to the objective of maximizing the efficiency of public services and improving citizens' quality of life, while promoting sustainable resource management.
By opting for an IoT platform for the Smart City and integrating sensors, the Finistère region is using IoT technology to improve the management of public services and citizens' quality of life, for more efficient administration but also a significant reduction in the ecological footprint, thus meeting today's challenges

Local data storage 
Local data hosting is crucial for local authorities for a number of reasons: 
It gives greater control over security and confidentiality, meeting strict data protection regulations. 
It reduces latency in data transmission, which is essential for applications requiring real-time responses, such as traffic management or emergency services. 
It empowers communities by enabling them to control and analyze their own data without relying on external suppliers.

The choice of a French IoT solution with locally hosted data, such as our Kuzzle PaaS platform, was essential to the implementation and success of the Smart Connect project.

The choice of IoT connectivity 
To connect the sensors to the platform in Finistère, LoRa technology was chosen for its long-range private network infrastructure. This technology enables efficient, low-speed communication between connected objects, making it ideal for large-scale deployment without the need for high bandwidth. Developed in open source, LoRa connectivity offers the flexibility to be adapted and used by different communities, ensuring a customizable and economically viable solution.
For this project, more than 420 LoRa gateways were installed throughout the SDEF territory to guarantee extensive coverage. This practice enables constant and reliable real-time data collection, essential for monitoring and managing public infrastructures. The LoRa network makes a significant contribution to the efficiency of operations and responsiveness of services in the department, making this technology a strategic choice for the Smart Connect project. 

Citizen inclusiveness
The concept of an intelligent territory is partly based on citizen involvement. It is essential that users actively participate in the decisions and projects that concern them, thus reinforcing the sense of community and collective ownership.
To this end, local authorities make available citizen platforms that facilitate the transmission of information directly from citizens. This inclusive communication is crucial to the success of “living together” in an intelligent urban environment.

How did the Kuzzle IoT platform make this project possible?

Project development with Kuzzle IoT
The decision to deploy Kuzzle's IoT platform enabled us to connect and supervise over 270 smart territories. This extended network, managed by a territorial hypervisor, facilitated the management of connected public infrastructures, contributing significantly to the reduction of their energy consumption. The initiative included the deployment of an IoT-specific network infrastructure, optimizing the monitoring and control of public services through the use of Smart Grids.

• Public lighting: remotely manage public lighting to monitor operating periods, power variations, consumption, maintenance and set up failure alerts.
• Public buildings: Equip buildings with sensors to remotely read fluid meters (water, gas, electricity...) and thus enable more precise control and monitoring of consumption.
• Environment : Deployment of external and internal sensors in public buildings to monitor air quality, in particular, and thus enhance building management and comfort.
• Parking: Identify available parking spaces in real time, thus reducing the impact on pollution and noise, and saving time for citizens.
• Waste: Track the number of refuse collection points filled in real time to optimize household waste collection routes.
• Water: Remote reading of sectorization meters in real time to detect leaks and trigger alerts.
  
  These functionalities demonstrate how IoT technology, integrated via Kuzzle, can transform a territory into a model of intelligent, efficient urban management.

Project results with the Kuzzle IoT platform 

Kuzzle IoT, the Smart City solution, is used by over 270 SDEF municipalities and local authorities. In total, more than 475,000 sensors have been deployed to connect public equipment and infrastructure across the territory:

• 400,000 connected energy meters (electricity, gas and water) to measure energy consumption
• 72,000 public lighting systems connected for remote control
• 2,000 public buildings connected to improve energy consumption and maintenance
• 1,200 connected parking lots to optimize parking in the city
• 350 waste collection points connected to optimize collection rounds
• 250 air quality sensors installed in schools and public buildings  
• 420 LoRA gateways deployed throughout the Finistère region

Key facts

The smart territory project in Finistère shows how IoT technology can revolutionize the management of public services. Thanks to the Kuzzle IoT platform, the department has improved operational efficiency and citizens' quality of life, making Kuzzle the Open Source IoT platform of choice for communities to modernize their infrastructure and promote urban development.

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