Its collective, cumulative investment for this so-called “Smart Cities Initiative”: $160 million.
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AT&T is building on more than a decade of experience in developing Internet of Things (IoT) solutions to form a dedicated Smart Cities Organization.
The administration said it would commit $70 million in new spending and more than $45 million in “proposed investments” on public safety, energy, health, transportation and climate preparedness projects.
There are a host of cities joining in the White House’s initiative, and not to be missed on the list is the ever-present city of Dallas. The latest award winners were picked for their strong support from local government, colleges and universities, nonprofit groups and Internet services providers, among others.
Building on work that’s already been done by Internet 2, along with state and regional networks, communities will be able to experiment with prioritizing network resources for throughput, latency and more in the long-haul pipes connecting individual cities, depending on what an application needs.
More than $3 million to support the creation of a new instrument-the Array of Things-in Chicago that will be the first research infrastructure to allow researchers to rapidly deploy sensors, embedded systems, computing and communications systems at scale in an urban environment. “They don’t look for a single silver bullet; instead they bring together local government and nonprofits and businesses and teachers around a shared goal”.
US Ignite has received a $6 million grant from the National Science Foundation to build what it calls a “living lab” of testbeds that will show the utility of gigabit applications in 15 U.S. communities.
Aside from the federal contributions, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation provided $1 million earmarked for the part of the program that links cities with universities.
Energy is a big part of smart cities, a category that is growing in value.
Participating communities include: Burlington, VT; Chattanooga, TN; Cleveland, OH; Flint, MI; Kansas City, KS & MO; Madison, WI; the North Carolina Next Generation Network (NCNGN); Richardson, TX; Utah Wasatch Front cities including Salt Lake City and Provo, UT; Lafayette, LA; Urbana-Champaign, IL; and Austin, TX.
Other grants will be used to help research applications for self-driving cars and ways to reduce traffic congestion.
More than 20 U.S. cities will be involved in the Smart Cities scheme, as well as industry leaders, universities and federal departments who will support the collaborations with research infrastructure.
“The ultra high-speed network connectivity made possible through our partnership with U.S. Ignite provides us with a tremendous platform for collaboration with existing institutions within our city as well as with partner organizations around the world”, said Kettering University President Robert McMahan in a written statement.
Envision America is issuing a challenge to America’s cities to become smarter by accelerating deployment of innovative technologies that tackle energy, water, waste and air challenges.
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HP is acting as a primary private sector sponsor for the project. AT&T also said it will host a “Smart Cities” hackathon with the National Institute of Standards and Technology in January 2016.
