Houston to Use Digital Kiosks to Boost Equity, Smart City Appeal

The city of Houston (TX) has started the deployment of digitally interactive kiosks, which will offer wayfinding information and act as Wi-Fi hot spots. In the two years since the COVID-19 pandemic shifted schools and government alike to operate virtually, digital equity has become a top priority for cities. Local governments have taken a number of routes to establish more public Wi-Fi hot spots, deploying them at libraries and even in smart streetlights. For the city of Houston, the project — led by the Mayor’s Office of Economic Development with support from the Mayor’s Office of Innovation (MOI) — has been part of the mayor’s vision to be a smart city and provide residents with digital amenities, explained Director of Innovation Jesse Bounds. The city released an RFP in March 2020 and selected IKE Smart City as the vendor a year later, which was followed by the City Council’s May 2021 approval. In early February, the city unveiled its first kiosk. Notably, each kiosk will act as a free Wi-Fi hot spot that can support connectivity up to 75 feet away. This Internet access is throttled and restricted with time limits, Bounds said. This is an important component of the project as it will create “pockets of digital connectivity” for city residents, as Bounds explained. The devices can also be used to communicate with city residents. For example, the city can use the kiosks to push out information on topics like services or COVID-19 testing sites.