AST 'CHAMPIONS' Edition December 2017 Digital-Dec2 | Page 54

December 2017 Edition
Volume 18
New Trends in Smart Cities
Include Wireless Broadband
Increasingly, large cities around the world are investing in high
bandwidth network infrastructure to support smart city initia-
tives, with the most advanced including smart grid technolo-
gies, IoT traffic management systems, Wi-Fi access points
and smartphone penetration. These multiple solutions and
services can now sit on the same network, thanks to higher
bandwidth, better connectivity options and interference free
solutions, available with millimeter wave wireless.
By Alex Doorduyn, Director of Business Development, Secu-
rity & Surveillance, Siklu Communication, the 2017 Platinum
‘ASTORS’ Award Winner for Best Wireless Broadband Solu-
tion
This smart cities trend has often times developed
because of an initial safe cities initiative to de-
ploy surveillance cameras in public space where
large groups of people congregate for shopping,
entertainment and sporting events.
All of these are now potential targets for
terrorism.
Now city officials recognize the benefit of lever-
aging the same network infrastructure used to
deploy public surveillance systems to also of-
fer other beneficial solutions, such as intelligent
lighting, sensors to help monitor and manage
traffic and cameras that can monitor the cleanli-
ness of a specific area.
The smart cities movement in Europe and North
America has grown considerably within the past
few years, as more and more municipalities in-
vest in their high bandwidth network infrastruc-
ture.
In turn this development and the increase in pub-
lic Wi-Fi hotspots and public safety cameras,
along with the improved connectivity within pub-
lic buildings such as schools and libraries, are
expected to help fuel economic development
and sustain a high quality of life.
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