Page 15 - CT Issue 21

Keys to the Smart City 14

Remote provisioning and asset management
Inaccessible assets are difficult to maintain. The high cost of
visiting and servicing these assets in hard-to-reach places, such
as on top of lampposts or in hazardous areas, means that it is far
more efficient to manage sensors remotely. Automated network
provisioning by mobile operators allows large volumes of devices
and sensors to be quickly added to the network to support any
new applications. In addition to this, it is now possible to buy IoT
equipment and sensors with pre-installed SIMs that can be simply
added to the smart cities network of choice, via the introduction of
Embedded SIM technology, significantly reducing the maintenance
requirements of equipment connected to mobile networks. Many
mobile operators also provide device management services, which
can significantly reduce the cost of managing city assets.

Service development and deployments
Mobile operators have local on-the-ground teams who can work
closely with their city partners to plan and deploy services. Rapid
application development through their IoT platforms allows quick
development of new services and many mobile operators also
have labs which are used to test services before they go live. These
facilities and associated expertise enables the rapid introduction
and optimisation of new devices and sensors to the smart cities
environment and can also reduce the cost of deployment. Mobile
operators carry out in-depth planning to ensure that their network
coverage is optimised for smart cities services.