AT&T Announces Big Smart City Union at CES

by TODD STOLARSKI | Jan 6, 2016

Granted, the bold vow connected to this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is a bit lofty on paper: “Future = Delivered”. But a company so old and ever-present that some people still think of it as ‘Ma’ may have already delivered CES’s ambitious promise.

Yesterday at the 48th annual CES Show in Las Vegas, AT&T announced that it will soon be bringing its smart, AT&T’s Smart City framework to Chicago, Dallas and Atlanta. Working with those municipalities, AT&T has also partnered with Cisco, Deloitte, Ericsson, GE, IBM, Intel, and Qualcomm to help support the new initiative, building more connected communities through the Internet of Things (IoT).

With such forthcoming innovations, street lamps can detect local air quality while, after the show, the sold-out stadium can communicate with traffic signals to avert gridlock.

These IoT breakthroughs will allow cities to remotely monitor their infrastructure. Sensors in buildings, parks and roads can alert the authorities when repairs are needed. During inclement conditions, slick highways and icy bridges will call for the maintenance crews, themselves!

“We’re continuing to be a leader in smart cities innovation.”

— Mike Zeto, GM of Smart Cities, AT&T IoT Solutions

“We’ve built strong relationships with cities across the U.S. for over 100 years,” said Mike Zeto, general manager of Smart Cities, AT&T IoT Solutions. “We’re continuing to be a leader in smart cities innovation.”

“We are excited to team with AT&T, a leader in IoT solutions, to help us harness the power of near real-time information to create a safer, cleaner and more efficient city,” said Brenna Berman, CIO of the City of Chicago. “From water system sensors to advanced analytics and energy efficiency efforts, Chicago has already taken steps to become a Smart City.

Ideally, these changes will improve life for all citizens to engage in a smarter city. Next up, a smarter world.

To read the press release, click here

To contact the author, write to todd.stolarski@builtworlds.com, or follow him on Twitter @toddstolarski.