Sprint joins KC smart-city project with free Wi-Fi along upcoming streetcar line

Sprint committed to building and managing a free, intelligent Wi-Fi network along a 2.2-mile streetcar line under construction in Kansas City (MO). The project will be part of one of the largest smart city projects in North America, according to earlier statements by city officials and Cisco, which is providing the Wi-Fi hardware for the project as well as software components for the smart city.

Sprint claimed it is the first mobile service provider in the US to play such a large role in a smart and connected city project. The free, intelligent Wi-Fi will connect city services to help ease traffic and parking problems, control street lights and water and waste management systems, and offer maps and information on kiosks along new the streetcar line, Sprint said. Sprint compared the project to similar efforts in the European cities of Barcelona, Copenhagen and Hamburg. Sprint CTO Stephen Bye, in a statement, called the project a "groundbreaking initiative.” Sprint expects to spend $7 million on the project. A Sprint subsidiary, Pinsight Media+, will operate the data analytics and advertising platform built atop the Wi-Fi infrastructure.