Commissioner O'Rielly Remarks to Build Smart Cities of Tomorrow

Several elements involved in the deployment of Smart Cities rely on Federal Communications Commission activity or involvement. Let’s explore some of the policy issues and discussions that may be necessary to make Smart Cities happen in the near term.

• Applicable Technology Advancement: Smart City applications will require enormous and instantaneous cooperation among the moving technological pieces. 
• Fiber: The FCC has been centered on ensuring that the proper regulatory framework exists for providers to offer services and expand infrastructure deployments to meet consumer demand.
• Spectrum: To ensure that the nation’s networks can handle the traffic increase expected in a world where everything is wirelessly connected, the Commission has been doing everything it can to ensure the requisite licensed and unlicensed spectrum is available. 
• Transportation: One of the sectors that likely will affect and be the most affected by IoT and Smart Cities is the automotive and transportation industry. 
• Privacy/Surveillance:  How governments can create a comfort level with the potential privacy implications of Smart Cities remains to be seen and represents an increasingly heavy lift.