Current by GE is teaming up with Nokia to bring smart city technology to cities across Canada. The two companies recently announced a commercial partnership that will help Canadian cities improve operational infrastructure and expand new services to citizens, according to the companies.
Under the terms of the agreement, Nokia will gain access to Current by GE’s CityIQ platform technology across Canada. The system will repurpose outdoor street lighting into digital infrastructure that collects data and distributes valuable insights to cities via Nokia’s communications networks.
The combined digital solution is expected to help cities gain new operational insights and will enable app development — using a “horizontal” platform that can support a wide variety of apps simultaneously — that can address common challenges like parking and traffic management, public safety enhancements and weather and air quality monitoring.
“There is tremendous interest in smart city technology throughout Canada, and this partnership will offer Canadian municipalities a scalable method to quickly respond to demographic and economic shifts,” said Shawn Sparling, head of Canada enterprise sales for Nokia. “Responsive, flexible technology is key to creating smarter cities while enabling a safer and more sustainable environment.”
The collaboration complements Infrastructure Canada’s Smart Cities Challenge, which was announced earlier this year to spur development in new smart city initiatives. It encourages community leaders to team up with businesses, academia and civic organizations to design innovative digital solutions that improve residents’ quality of life. It also builds on Nokia’s recent agreement with Smart City Capital to foster smart city projects throughout Canada, by leveraging a $2 billion CAD dedicated project fund and a pre-vetted ecosystem of partners.
Canada has long been on the forefront of smart, energy efficient technology. In 2017, Bell, Canada’s largest communications company, announced it would use smart energy management solutions (EMS) to help Canadian businesses transform the way they manage their energy usage. The initiative aims to broaden Bell’s EMS portfolio by offering energy management “as a service” to simplify the process of managing complex systems. Bell will partner with Gridpoint for implementation of the EMS.
