I may date myself with a headline referencing the movie Get Smart, but it's always been one of my favorite spy comedies that’s been reimagined over the years. In it, Maxwell Smart plays a bumbling secret agent who relies on a shoe-phone to conduct clandestine conversations. Smart’s dual-purpose footwear is an early representation of today’s modern smartphone, and a good friend of mine likes to tease me about it still being the most innovative tech device, given my role covering 5G and telecommunications as an industry analyst.
With that humorous digression aside, late last year I had the opportunity to meet twice with officials from the City of Las Vegas to learn more about its “smart city” aspirations. That term—smart city—can mean different things to different people, and different municipalities. One size does not fit all. In this piece, I want to dive deeper into my conversations with the city's chief innovation and technology officer, Michael Sherwood. NTT is also a strategic partner for the city, and I would like to highlight what I find compelling about the overall vision for Las Vegas’ private cellular network deployment, as well as NTT’s involvement.
Read more: US: Nevada: NTT Helps The City Of Las Vegas Get Smart
Louisiana's comprehensive 50-year master plan for mitigating the impact of extreme weather on vulnerable coastal communities can provide guiding principles for every region.
The climate crisis has reached every corner of our country. As rivers run dry, fires consume neighborhoods and coasts disappear, state and local leaders are grappling with how to address an emergency of seemingly impossible proportions. In many states, developing and investing in effective policy that matches the scale of the problem has understandably felt just as daunting. Just recently, new research projected that vast new swathes of the country will be at risk of hurricane-force winds in the coming decades.
Read more: US: Louisiana: The Right Way to Build Climate Change Resilience
Chicago is Illinois’ most-populous city and is a beautiful blend of old and new, with buildings constructed in the late 19th century still standing today and many other architectural marvels that welcome thousands of tourists to Chicago each year.
Despite the ‘old feel’ in many parts of the city, Chicago has made enormous strides in embracing technology to improve many of the city’s services. From public transportation to public infrastructure, embracing and implementing green technology, and investing in a ‘smart grid,’ there are many ways in which the City of Chicago is using technology to improve the services offered to its residents.
Read more: US: Illinois: Chicago’s Smart City: Enhancing Services Through Innovation
Marin County is developing a new radar station that will track atmospheric rivers and inform a network with real-time data to help officials respond to potential flooding with a more customized report.
Marin County, Calif., will be deploying a new state-of-the-art flood radar network that will help provide real-time data from atmospheric rivers and allow local officials to plan quickly for localized flooding.
Read more: US: California: Marin County: ‘Smarter’ Radar Will Inform Bay Area Flood Network
Many years have passed since the Internet first became part of how government serves the people. There have been setbacks along the way, but digital government continues to deliver on its promise.
Homer Simpson spoke for a generation of legislators and the general public when, in a February 1998 episode, he observed, “Ohh, they have the Internet on computers now.” That vibe was very much part of the atmosphere as governments experimented with establishing a presence on the network of networks at the turn of the century.
Read more: US: Government's Evolution from Full- to Self- to Synthetic-Service