Report: Need for 'smart city' communications infrastructure growing rapidly

Worldwide shipments of communications nodes for 'smart city' networks will grow from 16.3 million annually in 2014 to 54.8 million in 2020, according to a recent report from market research firm Navigant Research. Ubiquitous and embedded communication services lie at the heart of the innovations in energy, transportation, and the efficient delivery of public services associated with smart cities, Navigant says. Without the underlying communication infrastructure, the smart city vision cannot be realized, the research firm points out.

“Growth in smart city communications systems is being driven largely by innovations in the core elements of the urban environment, including energy, water, transportation, buildings, and public services,” says Eric Woods, research director with Navigant Research. “The grand vision is of a multi-layered, multi-application network that will support rapid innovation at the edge while also providing a robust and scalable backend infrastructure for data transmission and overall network management.”

While some common communications technologies are used across sectors and departments, there is significant variation in ownership of the communications infrastructure, notes Navigant. Municipalities and other public agencies, utilities, private contractors, and communications service providers all have a role to play, finds the report. The diversity of ownership is a major factor leading to fragmentation in the communication infrastructure, Navigant asserts. That fragmentation must be overcome, according to the report, for smart cities to achieve their full potential.

The report, Smart City Communication Networks, analyzes the challenges and opportunities for smart city communication networks, with a focus on the five main sectors: smart energy, smart transportation, smart water, smart buildings, and smart government. The report explores the market issues and dynamics associated with smart city communications and covers the viewpoint of communication service providers, communication infrastructure vendors, IT vendors, and city governments.

Global market forecasts for communication node shipments, infrastructure revenue, and service revenue, segmented by region, sector, communication type, and network layer, extend through 2020. The report also examines the key communication technologies related to smart city communication infrastructure, as well as the competitive landscape.

Source:Lightwave