The city of Kingston, Ontario has entered into a public-private partnership with the communications company, Bell, that will use Bell’s Smart City platform to provide a series of connected Internet of Things (IoT) applications with the goal of making Kingston a more mobile, efficient, collaborative, and environmentally sustainable smart city.
“Technological advances are absolutely critical and one of the key factors to our future and economic success throughout the Kingston region,” said Bryan Paterson, the mayor of Kingston. “A Smart City uses technology and data to improve livability and opportunities for the city and its people. This partnership with Bell will create cutting-edge technology for us and put Kingston on the map as being one of the most innovative cities in Canada and a leading smart city, while improving everyday life for the people of Kingston.”
A pilot program will begin this spring and will include the use of energy analytics to help reduce carbon emissions and meet municipal environmental targets and the installation of digital kiosks that will provide Wi-Fi access, event updates, charging station services, tourism promotion, remotely managed video cameras, city information and 911 emergency buttons.
“Awareness of Smart Cities has grown enormously over the past year. Municipal, provincial and federal governments realize that they can positively alter the lives of millions of urban residents with the technology and data-driven opportunities that digital transformation provides,” stated Nigel Wallis, IDC Canada’s Vice President of IoT and Industries. “Smart City initiatives benefit civic institutions through provisioning sensor data that is analyzed, and acted upon by staff and citizens. This makes for better decisions, made faster. IDC believes that the Internet of Things has the potential to enhance efficiency while enabling governments to deliver services in ways that were not previously possible. It is heartening to see a medium-sized city embrace IoT, showing that mid-sized towns are well positioned to take the lead as Canada’s Smart Cities.”
