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Post-Expo Reflections: Telcofy at Smart City Expo Barcelona – The Power of Mobility and Collaboration

· 5 min read
Tormod Olson
Tormod Olson
Co-Founder

From Vision to Momentum​

We've returned from the Smart City Expo World Congress 2025 in Barcelona energized, inspired, and more determined than ever to drive the future of data-driven urban innovation.

Smart City Expo Barcelona Photo credit: Nordic Edge/Tore B. Granstrøm

Following our pre-expo post outlining Telcofy's mission, this reflection captures what we experienced — a week defined by collaboration, learning, and confirmation that human mobility insight is becoming a core pillar of smart-city development.

Telcofy: Transforming Mobility Data into Actionable Insight​

At Telcofy, our mission is simple but ambitious — to create better, more sustainable societies through data transparency and collaboration.

We transform anonymized mobile network data (MNO data) into human mobility analytics that inform decision-making in areas such as:

  • transportation and urban planning

  • crowd management and tourism

  • emergency preparedness and resilience planning

Our open, interoperable, and GDPR-compliant pipeline ensures that telecom-based mobility data becomes an ethical and trusted resource for both the public sector and private innovation ecosystems.

Through our CityOS framework, we provide the foundation for cities to understand how people move, gather, and interact — the invisible dynamics that shape urban life.

Collaboration in Action​

The success of our time in Barcelona was driven by collaboration with visionary partners and initiatives that share our mission.

Networking at Smart City Expo Photo credit: Nordic Edge/Tore B. Granstrøm

Oslo Kommune​

A huge thank-you to Thomas Bergø Johansen and Thea Pope from Oslo's Department of Business Development for integrating Telcofy into the Oslo Smart City programme in Barcelona.

Our ongoing collaboration under "Smart Oslo" explores how mobility analytics can enhance daily urban operations and crisis preparedness — turning data into actionable readiness.

Nordic Edge​

The Nordic Edge delegation, including sessions like "Meet the Cities" and the Nordic Business Mixer, was a masterclass in regional cooperation.

We connected with inspiring cities, companies, investors, and researchers exploring the same digital-society frontiers.

Dutch Metropolitan Innovations (DMI) Cluster​

Engaging with DMI's Urban Impact Lab and their focus on digital twins, data-sharing ecosystems, and climate resilience perfectly complemented Telcofy's contribution to European data-space interoperability.

Their joint Nordic-Dutch networking dinner at Llambers provided fertile ground for building bridges, collaboration and opportunities between Oslo, Rotterdam, Stockholm, Reykjavík and other cities.

Expo floor and exhibitions Photo credit: Nordic Edge/Tore B. Granstrøm

The Smart City Expo offered a snapshot of where urban data ecosystems are heading — and where Telcofy's mobility pipeline fits in:

Digital Twins at Scale​

Cities are racing to connect physical infrastructure with digital models. Open standards and reproducible data flows are essential — exactly what Telcofy's multi-MNO reference pipeline delivers.

Interoperable Data Spaces​

The discussion around European Data Spaces and secure cross-domain exchange echoed Telcofy's work with DMI and Eurostat's Trusted Smart Statistics (TSS) initiatives.

IoT Everywhere — But Missing Human Context​

Sensors measure traffic, air quality, and lighting — yet no one on the expo floor offered mobility insight purely from telecom data. This gap validates Telcofy's unique market position.

Learning from the Dutch Experience​

Past national mobility-data projects have folded due to high costs, unclear value chains and fear of reputational damage (based on previous experiences). Telcofy's privacy-by-design, cost-efficient, and transparent architecture addresses precisely those barriers.

Demand for Complementary Insight​

Cities increasingly seek telecom-based mobility data to augment IoT sensor networks, optimize transport planning, and improve sustainability outcomes.

Across sessions and side meetings, one thing was clear: the smart-city movement needs scalable, affordable, and trustworthy data infrastructure — the very space Telcofy is built to fill.

Collaboration and innovation

Beyond Barcelona: Building the European Mobility Data Ecosystem​

As we move from Expo halls to implementation, Telcofy continues to work with telecom operators, city governments, and statistical institutes to make MNO-based analytics a cornerstone of the European data economy.

Our ambition is to remain at the forefront of:

  • Trusted Smart Statistics, aligning with Eurostat's MNO-MINDS and Multi-MNO pipeline methodologies,
  • multi-MNO integration, ensuring cross-operator comparability and holistic datasets,
  • and cost-efficient, open-source pipeline innovation that lowers barriers for both public and private stakeholders.

By connecting signals, systems, and societies, Telcofy is helping Europe's cities evolve from data islands to data ecosystems — where mobility insight drives sustainable progress.

Keywords: Telcofy · Smart City Expo Barcelona 2025 · Human Mobility Analytics · Mobile Network Operator Data (MNO Data) · Official Statistics · Mobility Insight · Digital Twin Cities · European Data Spaces · Trusted Smart Statistics · Eurostat MNO-MINDS · Multi-MNO Pipeline · Privacy-by-Design · Cost-Efficient Data Pipeline · Oslo Smart City · DMI Cluster · Nordic Edge · Data-Driven Urban Innovation · Mobility Data Ecosystem · Sustainable Cities · CityOS · Telco Data for Public Good