Broadband Innovation
Broadband’s Influence on Innovation
Innovation is typically defined in terms of creating something new – simply put, creating new value and/or capturing value in a new ways[1]. How does broadband help or enable innovation?
[1] InnovationManagement.se – http://www.innovationmanagement.se/imtool-articles/how-do-you-define-innovation-and-make-it-practical-and-saleable-to-senior-management/
“I have found it most helpful to define “business innovation” (as distinct from general innovation) as the “creation and capture of new value in new ways.” This definition has made innovation more actionable and measurable in business terms and makes it inclusive of “new” offerings and value propositions (new services or products), “new” methods (new technology applications or business processes), and “new” business models (new channels, partners and financial models for capturing value from innovation investments.”
– Ron Jonash, Monitor Group
The power of knowledge sharing and collaboration
Innovation comes from the creative minds of people and is enabled by their skills, knowledge and experience. The ability for people to share their skills, knowledge and experience and to collaborate enhances the creative innovation process. The Internet itself, with its vast trove of knowledge and as a mechanism to communicate and share information – with anyone anywhere, – further enhances the opportunity to innovate.
This sharing can range from informal social media and discussion groups to more formally organized collaborations among businesses, academic institutions, governments, and other organizations with the intent of facilitating innovation. Many communities and regions have established innovation centres or labs as well as business incubators to assist entrepreneurs and new business start-ups. Access to quality broadband enables effective communication, collaboration, and innovation.
Broadband enables innovation through technology
As a communication and data transfer mechanism broadband enables the innovative creation of new services with new value, not only by connecting people but by connecting devices and developing new applications. This applies to both business innovation (commercial products) and to public services, such as telemedicine, distance learning, and civic engagement.
Some areas where broadband-enabled innovation has already take place are:
- High-speed broadband allows physicians to share digital images with colleagues in other geographic areas.
- Educational facilities are able to extend distance learning to under-served populations. Better technology infrastructure enables personalized learning and real-time assessment.
- Smart electric grids produce greater efficiency in monitoring energy consumption and contribute to more environment-friendly policies.
- Video conferencing facilities save government and businesses large amounts of money on their travel budgets.
These types of applications and more are simply not possible, and would not have been developed, without the availability and growing use of high-speed broadband. Innovation will continue along these lines as more and faster broadband becomes available and as more and more intelligent devices become available. By some estimates there are 7 billion intelligent devices globally and expected to grow to 50 billion by 2020[2] – and currently only 1 percent of such devices are connected to the Internet. The power of this trend creates opportunities for innovation of applications and services in ways difficult to predict or imagine.
[2] Interview with Wim Elfrink, EVP and Chief Globalization Officer at Cisco – http://smartcitiescouncil.com/resources/how-smart-cities-will-transform-business
Smart Manufacturing
Smart manufacturing is defined[3] as the sophisticated practice of generating and orchestrating the use of data-driven manufacturing intelligence using multiple real-time smart systems pervasively deployed throughout all operating layers (i.e. control, automation, maintenance/reliability, trade-off decisions, operations, logistics, risk, business management, etc.) across the entire factory and supply chain. Smart manufacturing integrates network-based data and information that comprises the real-time understanding, reasoning, design, planning and management of all aspects of the manufacturing and supply chain enterprise, i.e. manufacturing intelligence. This is achieved through pervasive, comprehensive and orchestrated use of advanced sensor-based data analytics, modeling and simulation, and integrated performance metrics constructed for real-time action.
Manufacturers, large and small, not only need to manage their internal operations and production, but also manage their vital supply chain that involves communication and integration with their suppliers and shipping and transportation services. Integrated software applications, often in the cloud, enable the collection and analysis of data to create intelligence for planning, automation, and control, leading to efficiencies and cost savings as well as innovation. Many different technologies and applications may be involved in smart manufacturing, but access to quality broadband is a key infrastructure to provide the bandwidth and reliability needed for the collection, management, and use of data in real-time.
[3] Smart Manufacturing Leadership Council – https://smartmanufacturingcoalition.org/sites/default/files/smlc_sm-real-time_networked_enterprise_1.pdf
Advanced Manufacturing
Advanced manufacturing, in particular, needs quality broadband both for creating innovative solutions as well as for operations. Several broad trends that are changing the face of manufacturing globally are beginning to converge.
- Ubiquitous role of information technology
- Reliance on modeling and simulation in the manufacturing process
- Acceleration of innovation in supply-chain management
- Move toward rapid changeability of manufacturing in response to customer needs and external impediments
- Acceptance and support of sustainable manufacturing
These trends allow for tighter integration of R&D and production, mass customization, increased automation, and focus on environmental concerns. For larger firms many of these needs can be developed using in-house IT systems. However, all firms are becoming increasingly interconnected and dependent on quality broadband. Smaller and new advanced manufacturing firms are likely to be even more dependent on high-speed, reliable broadband through the need to use cloud-based solutions for their R&D and production processes.
Smart Cities – Not just for large cities
The smart city concept has been around for many years and there are certainly many examples of innovation utilizing technology and broadband connectivity in large cities around the world. These concepts are just as applicable to smaller communities where the infrastructure is available and the economies of scale make sense in relation to the opportunities and needs of the community.
Perhaps just as importantly, the benefits to the municipality and its citizens can become an additional driver and justification for investment in improving the broadband infrastructure. Good broadband connectivity is a key underpinning for other technologies that need to communicate to deliver smart city capabilities and services. Smart cities utilize a range of applications that leverage what is commonly called the “Internet of Things” (IoT). An increasing number of devices, from home appliances to medical equipment to vehicles, contain intelligence and the ability to communicate and exchange data over the Internet, to each other and to other systems and applications.
Using devices that can collect data, monitor themselves or their environment, and that can be controlled remotely or automatically by people or programmed applications, provides opportunities for communities, residents, businesses, and institutions to enhance control over their environment, improve efficiency and cost savings, and offer innovative services.
The Internet of Things
The “Internet of Things” (IoT) is the network of physical objects—devices, vehicles, buildings and other items—embedded with electronics, software, sensors, and network connectivity that enables these objects to collect and exchange data. The IoT allows objects to be sensed and controlled remotely across existing network infrastructure, creating opportunities for more direct integration of the physical world into computer-based systems, and resulting in improved efficiency, accuracy and economic benefit.
Smart City Applications and Uses
The major ways in which smart city concepts are used include:
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| Transportation |
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| Energy |
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| Health and Human Services |
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| Waste Management |
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| Water Management |
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| Economic Development |
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While the applicability and viability of some smart city concepts will vary with the scale and size of the municipality, the opportunity from the interconnectivity of the IoT as well as people offers potential benefits to any community to innovate for enhanced urban services, social services, and environmental sustainability. Beyond the potential efficiencies and cost savings enabled by these concepts, communities have the opportunity to better compete for attracting and retaining businesses and citizens, especially youth.
Smart City Progress Report Article
Smart City Progress Report: North America – By Eric Woods – Navigant Research
The smart city label may be less common in North America than in Europe and Asia, but North American cities are looking to technology to improve the quality of public services and boost local economies. U.S and Canadian cities are also matching their counterparts around the world in setting ambitious sustainability targets.
Innovation in North American cities
There are several areas where North American cities are driving technology innovation:
- Leveraging smart grid investments– The investment being made in smart meters and smart grids in North America should provide an excellent underpinning for smart city programs. One example is San Diego Smart City, which is based on a collaboration between San Diego Gas & Electric, the city council and other local stakeholders
- Upgrading the water infrastructure – The rising demand for water in expanding cities and the need to upgrade the water infrastructure is driving U.S. cities to be leading adopters of smart water technologies. Dubuque, Idaho, for example, has put water management at the heart of its smart city program.
- Looking anew at transportation: Several U.S. cities are vying to become centers of electric vehicle innovation, through various programs to improve charging facilities and promote EV adoption. The U.S. is also home to two of the largest smart parking trials in the world, in San Francisco and Los Angeles. These projects are using sensors technologies, real-time data analysis and dynamic pricing to reduce congestion and boost revenue collection.
- Renewing city government – The United States and Canada have been long-standing leaders in e-government. This continues today in the government use of data analytics, cloud computing and the drive to open up public sector data. New York and Chicago, among others, are exploring how they can transform city operations through the better use of data.
From pilots to citywide deployment
While there is no shortage of innovation across North American cities, there is room for more joined-up thinking about how these diverse projects can come together as part of a broader city vision. This is starting to happen in cities like San Diego and Dubuque.
(Eric Woods is a research director at Navigant Research, a part of Navigant Consulting, Inc.)
Smart City Concepts
A smart city is an urban development vision to integrate multiple information and communication technology (ICT) solutions in a secure fashion to manage a city’s assets – the city’s assets include, but not limited to, local departments information systems, schools, libraries, transportation systems, hospitals, power plants, water supply networks, waste management, law enforcement, and other municipal services. The goal of building a smart city is to improve quality of life by using technology to improve the efficiency of services and meet residents’ needs. ICT allows city officials to interact directly with the community and the city infrastructure and to monitor what is happening in the city, how the city is evolving, and how to enable a better quality of life. Through the use of sensors integrated with real-time monitoring systems, data are collected from citizens and devices – then processed and analyzed. The information and knowledge gathered are keys to tackling inefficiency.[1]
The smart city concept is frequently captured in a framework depicted in the wheel diagram[2] that expresses a number of interconnected and measurable goals encompassing people, the economy, government, and the environment.
Smart cities are about more than the very important aspect of people and businesses connecting with each other and using applications over the Internet. Smart cities also encompass the increasing use and benefits from the IoT – the ability to communicate with smart devices to monitor and control a variety of functions that impact and improve quality of life.
Smart cities utilize technology, including broadband, to develop capabilities such as smart grid, smart homes, and intelligent transportation, often in collaboration with the public and private sectors, to improve efficiency, productivity, safety, and the environment.
[1] Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_city
[2] Boyd Cohen, http://www.fastcoexist.com/1680538/what-exactly-is-a-smart-city
Smart City Applications and Examples
The smart city concept encompasses a number of areas:
The Built Environment
The Built Environment includes all of a city’s buildings, parks and public spaces — is critically important. Though most of the Built Environment is not city-owned, a city government still has enormous influence over what is inside its city limits.
Example: Cost isn’t the only reason many cities are switching to LED lighting systems. Integrated lighting technologies offer access to connecting Internet of Things technology solutions to the system, such as dimming capabilities, digital signage, sensors that provide environmental alerts and a lot more.
Economic Development
Smart city technologies can have a dramatic impact on the prosperity of a region. This section focuses on the application of technology to affect growth and economic well-being.
Example: With payments at the heart of a city’s economic activity and success, the efficient handling of funds will become increasingly important. Digitizing payments permits greater convenience for citizens and tourists and greater transparency for government. It enables cities to better deploy resources and gain data-driven insights that lead to more effective city planning.
Energy
Smart technologies are used to make the energy (e.g. gas and electricity) infrastructure more efficient, more resilient and more cost effective.
Example: Combining smart meters and powerful analytics, Dubuque, Iowa has given its citizens the insights they need to adjust their energy and water consumption, with results—such as up to an 11% reduction in electricity usage and a 7% reduction in water usage—to show for it. Insights into real-time travel patterns are also helping promote more sustainable transportation policies in Dubuque.
Health and Human Services
For both the public and the private sectors, new digital technologies offer breakthrough innovations that make services both easier for citizens to find and use and less costly for city governments to administer.
Examples: 1) A new generation of “smart” bedside terminals is enabling hospitals to become fully connected, accessible and integrated all the way to the point of care. 2) Using a set top box linked to a patient’s home television and standard broadband connection, enabling hospital specialists to consult with their patients face to face.
Public Safety and Security
Cities have a duty to protect the public and much of this duty is accomplished by first responders such as police, fire and ambulance. Smart technologies are revolutionizing how cities locate, mitigate and prevent safety issues.
Example: The Ontario city of Sault Ste. Marie’s population is aging rapidly, as is the population of visually impaired individuals. The Community Geomatics Centre helped prioritize intersections in the city for audible pedestrian crosswalk infrastructure implementation.
Transportation
Mobility and congestion are challenges for every city. More and more of them are turning to technology to provide better, faster and cheaper ways to get around.
Example: Intelligent traffic management tools and analytics help you see into your road and traffic infrastructure. Sensors embedded and installed at various points along roadways and intersections can communicate to software to provide valuable traffic statistics that help municipalities and other transportation planning organizations effectively manage the flow of traffic.
Waste Management
With the total volume of waste generated globally expected to increase by nearly 50% over the next decade, the adoption of innovative technologies will result in more integrated waste management solutions that move beyond the traditional use of labor, diesel trucks and conventional landfills.
Example: The picturesque Finnish town of Porvoo was having considerable challenges handling the increasing amount of waste that the many guests were generating during the summer tourist season. To tackle the problem the authority decided to pursue a smart city solution, installing wireless fill-level sensors at recycling and reduced collections, unnecessary emissions, with net cost savings.
Water and Wastewater
Many experts believe that water (or the lack thereof) will be the 21st century’s single biggest urban challenge. Fortunately, a new generation of smart technology now allows us to minimize waste, leakage and costs
Example: Citizens in Cary, North Carolina can manage their water use and identify possible problems with a wireless meter reading system that provides them with hourly water readings, saving the city millions of dollars in operations and personnel costs.
There are many opportunities to benefit from broadband and the IoT to create innovative solutions for communities and their citizens. You don’t need to be a city to benefit from smart city concepts that are appropriate for even smaller communities.
Many resources, ideas, and case studies are available from the Smart Cities Council (http://smartcitiescouncil.com/).