Press Releases

Budapest, June 7, 2010 13:00

The latest T-City development: "Future Store", i.e. a place where ITC solutions make shopping an easier and quicker exercise, has been opened at Szolnok. The project is part of the smart city program launched by Magyar Telekom and the city of Szolnok a year ago. The program called T-City offers the inhabitants of Szolnok access to Magyar Telekom's new products and services, while the consumers and businesses of the town can test the latest, forward-looking developments not yet available on the market, and help to fine-tune them by providing feedback about their experience and recommendations.

Future Store solutions have been put into operation at the Szandaszőlős Coop Szuper shop of Szolnok by the entities partnering on the initiative, i.e. Magyar Telekom, Coop Hungary, Coop Szolnok, Bizerba, Laurel, and the experts of KFKI and Origo. The concept is to develop a business solution that makes shopping a real experience by using 21st-century ITC applications. The applications in question are not only helpful in finding the right products, but are entertaining, too.

Commenting upon the launch of Future Store, Mayor of Szolnok City, Ferenc Szalay said that "the T-City Project is a perfect chance to demonstrate what innovative opportunities a developing town can offer. Numerous opportunities have been provided to Szolnok that are very useful for a town where many services providers are located. We hope that by using the technical and service innovations that we test jointly, our town will be able to better the everyday lives of its inhabitants in many new ways. For most of us, Future Store is a curiosity that we consider not only an easier way to shop, but also as entertainment. I trust that based on our experience, the benefits of modern technology will be available to shoppers at an increasing number of settlements in Hungary."

Magyar Telekom's Chief Strategy and Corporate Development Officer, Róbert Pataki explained: "Magyar Telekom is committed to innovation, one result of which is T-City, Hungary's first smart city. Following the service pilots implemented in course of the past year in the context of e-learning, social media, e-health and security, I consider the Future Store initiative, offering complex solutions, of utmost importance. We do hope that this unique project will attract as many people to T-City as possible."

Chief Executive Officer of Coop, László Murányi emphasized: "I am proud that our commercial chain is the first in Hungary to present Future Store, in partnership with Magyar Telekom and the city of Szolnok. Coop Business Group has already proven that drawing on its own resources and cooperating with others, it is able to successfully respond to the challenges posed by the changing environment. In addition to preserving traditional values, Coop, being the oldest commercial chain in Hungary, has always been characterized by a forward-looking, long-term strategic mentality, an excellent example of which is the Szandaszőlős Coop Szuper shop."

Several uniquely innovative services are available at Future Store. One of them is the Bluetooth Totem set up by Origo, which helps shoppers to learn about the latest news and discounts. Shoppers can receive and store these information on their mobiles, the only thing you need is a live bluetooth connection.

Future Store includes many developments that make shopping easier. One example is the digital shelf label provided by Laurel, which gives customers information not only about the price, but also the ingredients or country of origin regarding the products, thus helping shoppers to pick their choice. By using Bizerba's smart scales, customers can get cooking recipes and advise specific to the product they put on the scale.

In order to make shopping a real experience, in the framework of Future Store, Sommelier and Recipe Kiosks are also available to shoppers.

At Future Store, you can get extra discounts by using your Mobile Coupons, which can be downloaded from the abovementioned Bluetooth Totem and can be used to pay at the smart cash registers, where the cashier can simply have the coupon viewed on the mobile phone's screen read by a device. Mobile Payment is also an option, by means of which you can pay in a simple and secure manner using your mobile.

As a supplementary service, plasma screens, located at numerous locations throughout Future Store, show discounts offered by the store, information regarding the latest developments and some other useful content.

T-City is a joint, multi-year development and innovation program of Magyar Telekom and Szolnok City, which was launched in May 2009, with the purpose of providing and testing state-of-the-art telecommunication, ITC and content services. Future Store is not the first innovative initiative introduced as part of the program for the benefit of inhabitants living in Szolnok's Szandaszőlős area. In the framework of this long-term development and innovation program, inhabitants, businesses and institutions of the town were among the first to test the Home Security system, the Panic Button service to be used in case of medical emergencies, the IP-camera broadcasts from the town's sports hall, and receive messages generated by the electronic entrance system installed at the Szandaszőlős Primary School informing parents about the arrival and departure of their kids. Magyar Telekom puts special emphasis on educating the residents of the town about ITC technologies in the framework of T-City Kids program for schools and the Internet Academy for the public. You can read more about the program at the t-city.hu website.

About Magyar Telekom
Magyar Telekom is Hungary's largest telecommunication service provider, which offers the full range of telecommunication and info-communication (ICT) services, including fix and mobile phone, data transmission and non-voice, as well s IT and system integration services. The company pursues its business through its two business units: Consumer Services Business Unit (the T-Home brand of services accessed at home and the T-Mobile brand of mobile communication services); Business Services Business Unit (T-Systems brand). Magyar Telekom is majority owner of Makedonski Telekom, the largest fix and mobile service provider of Macedonia, as well as Crnogorski Telekom, Montenegro's largest telecommunication service provider. Magyar Telekom's majority (59.21%) owner is MagyarCom Holding GmbH, which is exclusively owned by Deutsche Telekom AG. Further information is available at www.telekom.hu.