How 5G Promotes Smart City Development

Global examples of how smart cities are leveraging technology are growing. But with all these innovative applications, potential bottlenecks can slow down operations, undermine the ability of solutions to scale, and hinder the development of smart city ecosystems.

5G brings the capabilities needed for smart city connectivity, enabling the use of sensors, data, analytics, etc. 5G is essential to the evolution of urban spaces into sustainable, resilient and efficient entities, 5G is key to the future of smart cities.

Why 5G

The number of active IoT connections in smart cities in the European Union alone is expected to double by 2025, and the global IoT market size for smart cities is expected to grow by 18.8% overall. This ability to connect a range of urban activities, from traffic to energy to waste to collect data to improve services, quality of life and environmental impact, is the intelligence of smart cities. But the only way to realistically support the number of devices and sensors needed to achieve this quality of life and services is through 5G.

As an emerging global wireless standard, 5G enables a new type of network designed to connect virtually everyone and everything, including machines, objects and devices, all at exponentially faster speeds than current networks.

4G connects an average of 2,000 devices per square kilometer, while 5G connects 1 million devices per square kilometer. 5G also has faster speeds, lower latency and better reliability.

5G’s higher performance and improved efficiency can enhance user experience and connectivity, which are integral to the smart city vision. It also allows for enhanced end-to-end security, which is critical not only to protecting city infrastructure and operations from cyberattacks, but also to protecting citizens’ personal data and privacy.

5G can transform cities in several key ways. It can:

● Enhanced services and infrastructure for citizens: Aging infrastructure needs to be rebooted, and adding connectivity to services can enable them to run at a lower cost, increase efficiency, and be tailored to citizens’ needs.

● Improve operations and increase safety: Government-operated outlets such as ports and warehouses are adopting Industry 4.0 use cases, and 5G allows them to improve operations and safety.

● Bridging the digital divide: Ubiquitous connectivity is becoming a utility, and many citizens lack the necessary access. Without adequate connectivity, they cannot conduct activities such as remote learning, medical treatment, and working from home.

Governments are already driving productivity and efficiency gains at lower costs through 5G innovations. Cities are leveraging 5G and edge computing for functions such as crowd control and infrastructure monitoring.

5G standalone architecture can also connect transportation from tugboats to trains. Cities can integrate real-time asset tracking and autonomous robots that can virtually verify and inspect inventory and supplies.

How 5G Promotes Smart City Development

Digital investment is likely to be one of the top priorities for governments over the next three years, with 70% of respondents expecting a shift towards digital infrastructure investment as a push towards smart cities, according to a survey of more than 600 government officials and infrastructure executives around the world.

But smart city transformation can be a daunting task, and the right 5G infrastructure will be key to success. That said, 5G strategy should not be developed in a vacuum, but as an integral part of smart city planning.

Some steps cities can take to guide their 5G strategies include:

● Ideate and prioritize: Leverage smart city initiatives to select areas that need to be improved through 5G, idealize, identify, and prioritize top opportunities. This could include smart transportation systems, healthcare and medical transportation, or security, among others.

● Develop business case: Develop the operational benefits of 5G and its associated business case value proposition, including improved customer/citizen experience, more efficient services, and lower energy consumption.

● Design technical and security requirements: Define and design the technical solution architecture and requirements for 5G opportunities as part of a larger smart city architecture, taking into account deployment strategies and application needs.

● Build and evaluate: Start with a pilot that can be monitored and evaluated against the business use case, then refined and rolled out at a larger scale. Cities should also identify and leverage best practices and develop a roadmap and implementation plan, including timelines and accountability to stay on track.

● Operation and maintenance: Define overall governance, operating models and processes to ensure the sustainability of 5G. This includes securing and determining when and where funding is committed, and establishing appropriate controls to reduce fraud, waste and abuse.

The role of cities

The public sector and smart cities have a unique role to play in realizing the potential of 5G, taking the lead on 5G regulation, data privacy and ethics, inclusion and funding. Cities are driving much of the innovation and real testing in technology and 5G applications. They not only provide opportunities for the private sector to expand its efforts, but often provide funding to do so.

By building these ecosystems, smart cities pave the way for sustainable solutions across the urban landscape, and 5G can take smart cities to the next level.