As the biggest player in the IoT Connectivity world, AT&T (News - Alert) has a vested interest in doing everything it can to expand the reach of the IoT. To further that mission, and show its continued leadership of the space, the company on September 14 at Smart Cities Week announced it has joined the Smart Cities Council.
As part of its membership, the company will join in the members’ efforts to design and manage projects that will build smart cities around the world.
“The Smart Cities Council seeks to advance the livability, workability and sustainability of the world’s cities,” said Jesse Berst, chairperson, Smart Cities Council. “Cities cannot achieve those ambitious goals without robust Internet of Things technologies like those pioneered by AT&T. We thank them and welcome them to our family of world-class, collaborative smart city suppliers.”
AT&T is now part of the Dallas Innovation Alliance, which focuses on creating smart city environments in Dallas. The alliance intends to deploy smart cities solutions in The West End Historic District, a popular downtown Dallas destination. Some of the ideas include: Smart Lighting through an LED lighting system that uses an app to view and manage lights remotely and lets maintenance crews easily locate and replace broken bulbs; Smart Parking with garages that save energy by only turning on the lights when a car approaches; Smart Transportation solutions complete with traffic signals that can organize traffic flow based on the number of vehicles and pedestrians and digital signage that lets commuters know when the next bus or train will arrive; Public Safety innovations like gun fire detection technology that alerts law enforcement when and where a shooting occurs, the number of rounds fired and the number of people involved; and Smart Buildings with motion sensor lights that dim or shut off lights when a room is empty, water meters that alert maintenance of leaking pipes and electric meters that monitor energy use and alert at specific thresholds.
“We’re helping people and businesses stay connected with IoT technology,” said Mike Zeto, general manager, Smart Cities, AT&T IoT Solutions. “Cities everywhere are starting to address issues like high energy costs, aging infrastructures and driving innovation that can engage citizens. We’re developing technology that can save water and reduce energy consumption. These tools can help cities preserve resources and better serve their community in a more sustainable way.”
AT&T is also a lead member of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Global City Teams Challenge (GCTC). As part of the 2016 GCTC, AT&T will direct a team that helps more cities adopt Smart City solutions. Ten cities will be selected to deploy technology for smart metering, lighting, traffic management, parking and public safety. Cities participating in the technology deployments will be provided access to IoT solutions including access to AT&T’s M2X and Flow Designer services. The company is also co-hosting a smart cities hackathon with NIST at the AT&T Developer Summit in January 2016 with participating cities.
“We’re delighted to have AT&T participating in the challenge and leading a team.” said Sokwoo Rhee, associate director of Cyber-Physical Systems Program, NIST. “I look forward to continuing our collaboration with AT&T in GCTC 2016.”