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SMART CITY INFRASTRUCTURE

LAYING THE

FOUNDATION FOR

TRANSFORMATION

The most critical investment for the smart cities of tomorrow is also the most fundamental: the underlying technology infrastructure.

The promise of smart city initiatives is difficult to ignore. From safer, less congested streets to a cleaner

environment, smart cities can be more appealing places to live, work and play. Smart city solutions can also

enable government to deliver services more efficiently, transparently and effectively. Whether it’s growing

the tax base or making the best use of scarce resources, the case for investment is clear.

Many municipalities begin their smart city journey with individual solutions designed to meet pressing

needs. Spending money where immediate benefits are greatest may seem to be the sensible move, but for

the long term a broader strategy based on an end-to-end view of what it takes to enable a smart city can

prove to be the wisest investment.

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A SMART CITY IS MORE THAN THE SUM OF ITS PARTS

Most smart city initiatives have similar architectures:

• A diverse and widespread sensor network that collects data

• A reliable, high-performance network infrastructure that efficiently conveys the data

• Analytics and software that receive and aggregate the data, then transform it into actionable information

• Interfaces that present useful information and recommendations to users

This common structure suggests that efficiency and simplicity can be gained readily by sharing resources.

This is one of the greatest challenges that municipalities face as they embark on a smart city journey.

In many cases, solutions are conceived, opened up for bid and implemented in isolation. Ownership and

oversight are broken up with individual department budgets paying for discrete projects. The result can

be a complex patchwork of vendor relationships, proprietary solutions and redundant infrastructure.

Establishing a clear, overarching future vision and authority to act can speed the municipality’s

transformation. By treating each new initiative as part of a larger smart city strategy instead of a standalone

project, the same problems need not be addressed repeatedly. Time, effort and money are all saved.

More importantly, a unified approach eases integration and management, leading to true interoperability.

New value is generated because data and infrastructure from one smart city initiative can be fully utilized

to benefit others.

101

01

Present the data in the form of useful information and recommendations

Transform the data into actionable information

Convey the data

Collect the data

Interfaces

Connectivity

Sensors

Analytics and software

THE FOUNDATION OF A SMART CITY

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TECHNOLOGY ECOSYSTEMS LEAD TO VIABLE SMART CITIES

Imagine what becomes possible when diverse smart city initiatives are built on a common technology

infrastructure. An intelligent street lighting project, for example, might also incorporate environmental

monitors and cameras for public safety, smart parking and traffic management, all sharing data.

Or street-level kiosks can double as public Wi-Fi hotspots while also housing sensors and emergency

communications. Data from all of these can travel over the same dedicated, secure network, flow into the

same analytics engines and portals, and use the same computing and storage infrastructure. The result

is a more unified view of conditions that enhances the ability to respond to the needs of the community.

The widespread use of network connectivity and shared data to add value is a concept familiar to any

consumer. Connected Internet of Things (IoT) technologies like smart appliances, security systems and

thermostats are found in many homes, helping to improve the quality of life. However, the connectivity

infrastructure is not the same. Unlike homes where IoT devices are few and connectivity is simple,

municipalities need cost-efficient, low-maintenance ways to power thousands of sensors and connect

them to the network.

What’s needed is an underlying smart city infrastructure based on an IT strategy designed from the

ground up to support a broad range of initiatives. In many communities, critical parts of this infrastructure

already exist in the form of networks that can be leveraged to deploy advanced capabilities. It is important

to understand, however, that infrastructure is more than the network. It’s the entire stack of sensor,

connectivity and system platforms that enable smart cities to exist.

THE NETWORK IS A CRITICAL ENABLER OF SMART CITIES

The flood of data generated by smart city initiatives emphasizes the need for reliable, high-performance

connectivity that can scale to meet future needs. The smart city’s next-generation network infrastructure

should bring together a variety of technologies, some new and others likely already present: fiber,

low-power wireless technologies and mobile broadband, all play a part in ensuring connectivity between

sensors, networks, management platforms and the people who ultimately benefit from the data.

The various parts of a smart city infrastructure have different connectivity requirements. Some applications

such as augmented reality and autonomous mobility are very sensitive to latency. Others, like weather

sensors, place less demand on network performance. Some solutions require broadband wireless

access while others are hard-wired to the municipal WAN. The overall network strategy needs to

accommodate this diversity, maintaining performance and reliability well into the future as the need

for bandwidth increases.

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ACT NOW FOR FUTURE SUCCESS

It’s never too late to make the move to a robust smart city infrastructure, but it’s important to choose

your technology partners with care. No one vendor can deliver solutions that span the entire smart city

technology stack. For this reason, future-focused providers that fully comprehend the potential of smart

cities are forging relationships and collaborating to develop unified solutions. These vendor ecosystems

bring an important benefit: simpler relationships based on desired outcomes, rather than a complex

series of interdependent contracts.

By choosing a strategic partner with vision, expertise, leading technology and local presence, the long-term goal of a vibrant, multi-dimensional smart city that can be sustained over time becomes a practical, economically viable reality. It all starts with smart city infrastructure—a worthwhile investment that will pay dividends for many years to come.