Telekom launches practical app that everyone can use

With "Citykey" a new app developed by Telekom is available. It should finally digitize the administration of cities and municipalities to a large extent: applications, appointments, reports - all possible without visiting the office. But there is still a huge catch.

With the "Citykey" app, Telekom could have made a big hit. The application fills a gaping gap in digitization in Germany. Users should be able to perform various digital citizen functions, including applications to authorities and reports to the city or municipality. You can also receive local news in this way - regardless of which city you live in just one app (source: Telekom). At least that's the plan.

Smart communities thanks to the Telekom app: Citykey can do that

Most of the planned functions are currently available:

Forms, for example to apply for a resident parking permit, can be filled out and sent directly on the smartphone . Additional citizen services can be used using the online ID function of the ID card. Users can book appointments at the municipal administration online; there is also a checklist for the documents to be brought with them. Defects such as potholes or defective street lights can be reported directly to the municipality by photo and the respective location. There is also an event calendar, local news directly from the administration, for example on public displays, and interesting places that may be worth visiting. If you want, you can also take part in surveys via Citykey and thus actively participate in community life and the design of your own home.

An integrated garbage collection calendar is not yet available, but has already been planned for one of the upcoming updates . Here, users should also be able to create messages directly from the app as to which garbage is picked up and when. Citykey is available for iOS and Android:

Citykey from Telekom comes with a big catch

The big drawback of Citykey is the start on a small scale: Although theoretically many municipal and local administrations can participate, only two cities in North Rhine-Westphalia are currently doing so: Siegburg and Hennef. If you don't live there or are planning a visit, you can hardly do anything with Citykey.

Citykey could soon join our list of apps that belong on every smartphone. You can find them in the video :

But that will change as soon as other municipalities connect their administrations digitally. According to Telekom, there is no reason to worry: The app is particularly data-efficient and GDPR-compliant, they say. It also only provides the so-called "front end", i.e. the user interface, for the users. The actual processes are transferred to the municipalities' digital administration systems via the cloud.