New Nokia offering combines IoT, secure analytics, public safety
A combination of IoT sensors feeding data into analytics engines, along with other connected assets, can unlock actionable insight that leads to better municipal operations and improved quality of life for urban residents–that’s the vision of a smart city in a nutshell. And, according to Nokia Head of Global Services Business Development Asad Rizvi, that goal depends on digitalization.
“Cities need to become digital in order to efficiently deliver services to their habitants,” he said. “Smart infrastructure, which is shared, secure, and scalable, is needed to ensure urban assets and data are efficiently used. We can help cities with that. In addition, we can help operators generate new revenue utilizing their existing network by providing solutions for smart city players, such as city, transport, travel and public safety authorities.”
For instance, Nokia worked with Singapore operator StarHub to unlock the insight from mobility analytics. Telcos like StarHub have lots of customer-related data including information related to movement, behavior and habits. The operator realized the value this type of location-based data could have for city planners and transportation authorities. According to Nokia, “Measuring commuting patterns enables authorities to plan more efficient roads and public transport networks. Business owners benefit from more effective advertising, targeting people in the vicinity based on their travel patterns, activities and personal interests. City authorities can identify the movement patterns of people to help decide where to build parks, shopping malls, recreational buildings and offices.”
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Chong Yoke Sin, Chief of StarHub’s Enterprise Business Group, said working with Nokia, “We have introduced several successful mobility analytics use cases in Singapore for strategic and operational urban planning and decision making.” She said the plan is to develop more use cases that might be offered to other operators “as white label solutions.”
This partnership with StarHub is part of a broader Nokia initiative around digital cities, which are incorporated into a new, three-pronged services portfolio:
- IoT for Smart Cities integrates and analyzes relevant data and orchestrates related applications–video surveillance, smart lighting, parking systems, waste management, etc…–for “enhanced efficiency, faster responsiveness and improved decision making.”
- Sensing as a service uses operator-owned base stations as a site for sensors that can collect data that can be sold back to “enterprises, cities, public safety authorities and governments,” using blockchain micro-transactions.
- S-MVNO (Secure Mobile Virtual Network Operator) for Public Safety lets operators use their existing LTE networks for public safety communications as a way to create a new revenue stream. Nokia has solutions to ensure reliable access for first responders across the radio, backhaul and core network layers.