Dive Brief:
- AT&T has partnered with Cisco to integrate Cisco's Kinetic for Cities platform into certain AT&T Smart Cities solutions, including its Smart Cities Operations Center (SCOC).
- The companies say the collaboration will "simplify operations, enable new revenue sources and allow leaders to be more responsive to citizen needs."
- AT&T also has partnered with Portland, OR on a pilot for two technology solutions: digital infrastructure and structure monitoring, which will particularly help the city's traffic and its building safety.
Dive Insight:
Through this partnership, Portland plans to have about 200 digital infrastructure sensors installed on streetlights throughout the Central Eastside part of the city. The sensor network will work to improve city mobility in terms of traffic congestion and parking.
The structure monitoring portion of the pilot will involve using LTE-enabled sensors installed on various infrastructure elements to monitor each structure's behavior. The sensors can measure temperature, tilt and cracks to determine if a building or other structure is safe. It also can send alerts if a sudden, significant change or potentially dangerous event is detected.
AT&T's partnership with Cisco should make the digital platform easier for users to operate and to integrate new smart city features. One data set can be used by multiple partners, such as connected parking meters that help drivers find a spot, but also provide peak usage and traffic pattern information for city planners. Other areas that the companies say the collaboration will improve are smart lighting, mobility, water metering and security.
