Kansas City has launched its smart city initiative, a collaboration with Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO), Sprint (NYSE: S) and Think Big Partners to make it a leading technology, innovation and entrepreneurial community, the company said.
The program includes Sprint Wi-Fi, a free outdoor public Wi-Fi deployment across more than 50 square blocks downtown, 125 “smart” streetlights along a two-mile stretch of the new KC Streetcar line and 25 interactive kiosks to engage citizens. Sprint, in collaboration with Cisco, constructs, owns and manages the intelligent Wi-Fi network, which connects to a broad range of smart city applications.
Wi-Fi connectivity along the KC Streetcar route will help enable smart lighting, digital kiosks and sensor technology. Smart lighting reduces power consumption and enables better tracking of total energy used. Kiosks at KC Streetcar platforms and locations around downtown provide information about local businesses and events and offer new ways to access city services.
Entrepreneurs are developing new applications through a Living Lab partnership between Cisco and Think Big Partners to connect entrepreneurs to smart city data.
Home to 2.5 million people, the Kansas City region is recognized as “America´s Creative Crossroads” as a center for technology and artistry. Kansas City was selected for the roll-out of Google´s 1 Gigabit Google Fiber service, and for one of Cisco´s most comprehensive Smart+Connected Cities programs.
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