Smart cities are only as good as their connectivity
Source: Smart Cities World Published: August 10, 2020
Smart cities are gaining traction, with worldwide spending on connected city initiatives predicted to reach $124 billion this year; an 18.9 per cent increase from 2019. The smart city vision involves driverless cars, artificial intelligence (AI), smart street lighting and smart parking. It promises to solve a fundamental challenge for towns and cities – how to reduce costs and generate economic growth and resilience, while increasing sustainability and improving public services and quality of life.
However, when it comes to smart cities, you’re only as good as your connectivity. As such, the community will depend on high speed reactions. To have delays or crashes would be detrimental to the functioning of the entire environment, leading to more than grumbles but a decline in productivity, economy, and quality of life.
Why connectivity is key
Technology has developed leaps and bounds in the last few decades. Where residents once relied on dial-up internet and the quandary of a decision between making a phone call or surfing the web, now everything in our homes and on the street can be consistently connected; that’s what a smart city means, a fully, always-on, connected urban area. By using technology to optimise the city or town, authorities will see benefits across a range of different aspects – from better transport and eased congestion to smart refuse and recycling points and saving electricity. Therefore consistent connectivity is absolutely vital to the functioning of smart cities.