• Companies to offer funding packages coupled with an ecosystem of pre-vetted partners to help accelerate the adoption of smart city initiatives

• Effort is intended to enable communities to more effectively leverage resources from Infrastructure Canada's Smart Cities Challenge program

Espoo, Finland - Nokia and Smart City Capital, LLC are launching a joint program to help Canadian cities fund and reduce the risks associated with smart city initiatives. With available project funding from Smart City Capital exceeding $2 billion CAD, this program complements the Smart Cities Challenge program launched by Infrastructure Canada earlier this year.

To support this effort, Nokia and Smart City Capital have created a best-in-class partner ecosystem that includes suppliers of a broad range of technology solutions, standardized and scalable communications network infrastructure and platforms, and architecture and engineering services. This ecosystem is designed to help facilitate the adoption of smart city applications in areas including public safety, smart transit, autonomous vehicle and vehicle to X (V2X) and more.

Shawn Sparling, Head of Enterprise Sales, Canada for Nokia, said:

"Funding is a major stumbling block for government entities embarking on the journey of a smart city transformation. With our partner Smart City Capital, LLC, we bring our global expertise and the capital necessary to successfully execute and deliver smart city projects, across Canada."

Oscar Bode, CEO , Smart City Capital, said:

"Nokia's growing expertise in smart city deployments and project management, coupled with our strong funding base and innovative funding model, puts us in an ideal position to help simplify, expedite, and increase the adoption of smart, safe, and sustainable smart city deployments throughout the country."

The project builds on Nokia's strong track-record supporting smart city initiatives worldwide. It also highlights the progress of Nokia's strategy of expanding its customer base outside of the traditional telecommunications sphere, a key focus of the company.