In its coverage of the Council's Smart Cities Now forum held at Qualcomm headquarters in San Diego, the U -T San Diego highlighted the challenges that cities will face as populations increase and why smart solutions matter. The full U-T report is here; a brief excerpt appears below.
Cities also need to take a big-picture, systemwide approach to technology, conference speakers said. Qualcomm is talking with cities about “multipurpose infrastructure.” So when a new streetlight is installed, it includes a security/traffic flow camera, a small cell to improve 3G/4G coverage and so on.
In urban centers, skyscrapers can block wireless signals. Qualcomm is a partner in a project to replace old pay phone booths in New York City with sleek, advertising kiosks that include voice calling and free, 1 gigabit Wi-Fi. The ads pay the cost.
