Smart Cities

Twin technologies of 5G and IoT key to building smart cities.

14:37 19 May 2020

The smart city revolution, which aims to drive efficiencies, improve sustainability and enhance the quality of life, is about to see massive expansion. Thanks to the twin technologies of 5G and Internet of Things (IoT), ensuring that every object does not just have intelligence but more importantly - can talk to each other -- is now a possibility. 

 

Dominique Bonte, vice president of end markets and verticals of ABI Research, says: "In the content of the smart city, 5G will deliver more capacity. This is often forgotten with faster data transmission speeds being the focus when 5G is discussed. More capacity is vital to realise the promise of the smart city. 

 

"As cities are dense conglomerates of people and objects, the connectivity that is needed must be seamless and intuitive. The cell structure we have at the moment for smartphone connections will have to take a quantum leap in density. Large scale 5G networks will appear in cities first as these spaces offer a controlled built environment that can have large numbers of devices connected together." 

 

A study on smart city, which was released by ESI ThoughtLab, found that 38per cent of cities deploying smart mobility solutions have boosted customer satisfaction while 32per cent are improving productivity and delivery times for businesses. Meanwhile, cities that implement intelligent environmental and energy initiatives are able to improve citizen health, reduce pollution and stabilise energy prices.