IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

With the passage of the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, much-needed funds are starting to trickle down to states and cities. But how will localities spend their share?

While our nation’s roads, bridges, and highways need attention, the legislation also offers new opportunities for state and local agencies to lay the infrastructure of the future. And with two-thirds of the world’s population expected to live in cities by 2050, smart cities are a top priority.

Quick Summary:

• The past has been a proof that cheap and free are two words often thrown into the mobile sector, but seldom solved an issue.
• They have to be supplemented with good infrastructure.

Mobile phone ownership and coverage made a lot of progress as compared to essential factors like sanitation. More Indian households have access to a cell phone, than a toilet. Google’s Android and affordable handset makers have been instrumental in deep penetration of mobile usage in the country.

GPS will be the contracting authority for services for customers such as local authorities, regional broadband consortia, maintained schools, free schools, academies, further education colleges and the skills sector.

The framework agreement, which is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA), will replace the Becta ICT services framework of October 2010.

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• Kingston-Upon-Thames is working with Boldyn Networks to deploy a smart infrastructure pilot with smart columns providing high-speed connectivity

The Kingston smart infrastructure pilot will see 20 CCTV sites with the smart columns deployed with scope to add IoT sensors to better manage borough services.

Kingston Council is partnering with Boldyn Networks to roll out a smart infrastructure pilot across the Royal Borough of Kingston-upon-Thames.

Infrastructure and connectivity specialist Connexin has announced the expansion of its alternative, full fibre network built into Beverley as it continues with its mission to provide a “greater choice of broadband services for residents throughout the North”.

Founded in Hull in 2006, Connexin proclaims itself to be an “innovative and disruptive” technology company specialising in building and operating award-winning Smart City infrastructure to support the Internet of Things.

The Project Pathway team, consisting of two local authorities and two private sector suppliers announced the launch of the UK's first compliant public services network (PSN). Project Pathway involved Hampshire and Kent county councils, Global Crossing, Virgin Media Business and the Cabinet Office's pan-government PSN team.

He explained that it would enable patients seeking clinical care to have their vital information electronically measured, processed and sent via internet without follow ups.

The 163 million dollars Exinbank package, according to Mr Bagbin, was being processed by the Ministry, for the E - health infrastructure, aimed at enhancing tele-medicine in Ghana.

He said: "It is our hope that it will improve our financial services, improve the health services and the educational system and transform the agriculture sector through value addition."

Vice President Mahama lauded the steady growth of telecommunication services in Ghana with over 17 million subscribers, giving a teledensity of 75 percent compared to less than three per cent in 1997.

The Ghana Information and Communication Technology Directorate (GICTeD) launched the Enterprise Architecture (EA) and the E-Government Interoperability Framework (e-GIF) projects to facilitate the exchange of data between government agencies, public institutions and other relevant sectors to improve public sector service delivery.

The Glo 1 facility has been built with leading technologies backed by Globacom and Alcatel-Lucent and is set to transform the country’s communications landscape and present Ghanaian businesses with new opportunities of bridging the digital gap between Ghana and the rest of the world.

The 9,800km long submarine cable network, the first project of its kind to be executed entirely by a single organisation, berthed on the beaches of Osu in Accra.

"We are happy to announce that the wait is over and the Glo 1 is now ready to go live. The relevant tests have been concluded and the facility is now ready to carry traffic," Mr Adewale Sangowawa, Executive Director, Globacom told journalists ahead of the launch later on Friday.

Nigeria has the highest number of Internet users in Africa, at 43 million, surpassing South Africa, the largest economy. A report released by the ITU last week shows Nigeria's online community growing at a fast pace and Google products were the most visited by 43 million out of a population of 150 million.

The schools run by the Greater Chennai Corporation will now have Wi-Fi facilities under the Smart City Project.

According to a Corporation official, providing Wi-Fi connections to the civic body-run schools is a part of upgrading digital infrastructure at the campuses under the City Investments to Innovate, Integrate and Sustain (CITIIS) initiative.

“Even though the physical infrastructure will be upgraded only at 28 select schools, Wi-Fi and other digital infrastructure will be provided to all the schools,” the official said.

Pinarayi assures Centre of continued cooperation in implementing works

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday inaugurated a bevy of infrastructure projects in Kerala, including the 2,000-MW Pugalur-Thrissur high voltage direct current (HVDC) power transmission corridor.

He said the power transmission corridor would ensure the transfer of a large quantum of power from the national grid to the State and guarantee reliable access to electricity.

The guidelines will be shared with cities as the part of the Smart City Mission of the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs by Tuesday (October 20), officials aware of the development said.

The central government is drafting guidelines to scale up cycling infrastructure in the country, including interventions such as segregated lanes, shared streets, and intersections.

The report proposes strategies to develop talent, entrepreneurship and infrastructure, improve education and Karnataka's relationship with other countries, develop the ESDM (electronics systems design and manufacturing) sector, ready tier-II and tier-III cities for business expansion and living, and refurbish brand Bangalore.

The survey aims to include its citizens in the urban development process and to ensure participatory planning in developing the city infrastructure.

The Imphal Smart City Limited (ISCL), recently carried out a city-wide survey as part of the ‘Streets for People Challenge’ to identify the challenges faced by pedestrians in Imphal city.

During the survey, it was noted that 90 per cent of the respondents wanted places to sit, rest, socialise, and exercise in the booming city.

The Manmohan Singh government launched the project under the National Optical Fibre Network on 25 October 2011.

The previous UPA II government dithered badly on making rural India digital as it laid only 350 km of optical fibre in about two-and-a-half years. However, the Narendra Modi-led NDA government gave a major push to the project and laid over 248,000 km of optical fibre in the last three-and-a-half years. As a result, around 1 lakh gram panchayats, covering 3 lakh villages, are all set to roll out high-speed broadband services by this month’s end.

Though, the Municipal Corporation (MC) witnessed a sharp dip in the recovery of taxes and bills after the outbreak of Covid-19, the city Mayor and officials of the civic body are claiming to strengthen the infrastructure and speed up the development in 2021.

Karmajit Singh Rintu said, “No doubt, the Covid-19 hit the revenue of MC but we have optimum planning to tackle the situation. We have several funds and fixed deposit grants so development works would not suffer. Even we will spend more than previous years.”

The first phase of this project, called the coordinated corridor of rural development (CORD) will cover Mangalore-Karwar-Panaji (400km). The second phase will take up Honnavar-Shimoga-Bangalore (325km), Chitradurga-Solapur (400km) and Bangalore-Mangalore (360km). The Bangalore-Coimbatore (402km) line will be taken up in the third phase.