Smart cities gain traction in the west

Smart Cities

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Telensa, a manufacturer of smart streetlights, saw its revenues double year-over-year, according to The Register.

Further, the company announced that it will move production of its smart streetlights from Asia back to Wales later this year, which is where the firm's corporate headquarters is located.

The company's streetlights can be remotely controlled and monitored by cities that deploy them. They can be connected via Sigfox or LoRa networks — two popular low-power wide area network (LPWAN) standards specifically designed to connect IoT devices.

This news gives some insight into where Telensa thinks future smart city growth will be:

Developed markets like Europe have thus far been the driver of smart city adoption. While the North American market has been slow to progress, European cities have been among the world leaders in adopting smart city solutions, largely thanks to an EU initiative. That includes cities such as Barcelona, Copenhagen, London, and Vienna. That also means the European market was likely the region driving Telensa's revenue to double year-over-year.
Moving production back to the UK might suggest Telensa expects that this trend will continue. Telensa could be moving its production back to Europe to be closer to the bulk of its client base. And while the production location may not matter for some goods, it could matter for smart city products that are bought by local governments, which are often cash strapped and want to test out the products before buying them in bulk to see if their value to the city outweighs their often expensive cost.

Smart cities are cities that leverage IoT devices like sensors, smart lights, and smart meters to gather data that can be analyzed to gain new insights regarding their infrastructure, population, and public services.

The smart cities segment has enormous potential as a market for IoT solutions, but it is also an inherently slow-moving market. However, many cities are starting to address these challenges, and smart city development around the world is accelerating.

Jonathan Camhi, research analyst for BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has compiled a detailed report on smart cities that:

Details the different types of smart cities technologies and applications that have become most prevalent in different markets around the world.
Provides examples of some of the top smart city projects in different regions that address transportation, energy, crime, and other issues.
Explains how unique social, political, and economic factors are impacting smart city development in different regions.
Details factors that could help jumpstart smart city development in the Americas, Africa, and other parts of the world that have lagged behind comparable markets.
Explains the unique barriers to smart city development in different parts of the world, such as data privacy concerns in Europe and lack of support from the federal government in the US.

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