EuroWire March 2015

Transatlantic Cable

Despite all the activity, Hugh Martin, Sensity’s chief executive, told Ms Cardwell that no one has yet created a fully integrated network. But signs are strong that it is on the way. “The cities are in a race to deploy smart technology,” Mr Martin said. “And in the business of building a platform [the lights and sensors capable of connecting to a larger network] it’s all about how many nodes are out there. It’s a land grab.”

Energy

With Copenhagen, Denmark, in the lead, cities across the globe explore the potential of LED technology to enhance the quality of urban life “Cities worldwide are expected to replace 50 million aging xtures with LEDs over the next three years, with roughly half of those in Europe. Some are mainly interested in switching from outmoded technologies to one that uses less energy and can last for decades.” From Copenhagen, Diane Cardwell of the New York Times reported on a growing network of LED (light-emitting diode) installations that o cials hope will help the city of roughly 1.2 million meet its goal of becoming the world’s rst carbon-neutral capital by 2025. LEDs perform only when activated, brightening and dimming streetlamps as dictated by tra c patterns. Their use in the Danish capital is intended to ease mobility, cut the use of fossil fuels, and save money. (“Copenhagen Lighting the Way to Greener, More E cient Cities,” 8 th December) But Ms Cardwell noted that many other cities only want to take full advantage of the electronics of the LED, which are more conducive to wireless communication than other types of lighting. Los Angeles has almost completed the switch to outdoor LED lighting and is using sensors embedded in the pavement to detect tra c congestion and synchronise signals. Ms Cardwell was told by Munish Khetrapal, who helps lead so-called smart city e orts at Cisco Systems (San Jose, California), that the company is working with more than 100 cities. In October, Cisco entered into a partnership with another California rm, Sensity Systems, which makes advanced networks to help connect and coordinate agencies in cities as disparate as Chicago; Bangalore, India; and Barcelona, Spain. The American companies IBM and Philips are also aggressively pursuing smart city projects, together with lesser-known companies like California-based Silver Spring Networks, which provides utilities and cities with networking platforms, software, and services for critical infrastructure. Ms Cardwell reported that Silver Spring helped with the design and operation of the tra c and street lighting project in Copenhagen. † Other cities are also pushing ahead, and hundreds of pilot programmes and dozens of larger-scale installations involving LEDs with network control are going forward. Seeing the demand, technology and software companies are mobilising to serve the market.

Telecom

The repair of the Cuba-USA rupture is under way. But are the opportunities for American tech companies more apparent than real? “People love the image of Cuba with its vintage 1950s cars, but unfortunately its tech infrastructure is not much newer. And that’s why US tech companies are eyeing eased trade regulations with interest.” Barb Darrow, who covers technology and high-tech companies for Gigaom , was writing on 15 th January, the day on which the US Departments of Treasury and Commerce issued orders that should make it easier for American tech companies to enter the Cuban market. The moves came only about a month after President Barack Obama signalled his intention to open up Cuba-USA relations. While the new regulations will pave the way for individuals travelling from the USA to Cuba, Ms Darrow con ned herself largely to consideration of the prospects there for American tech companies. (“Just How Big Is the Cuban Market for US Tech?”, 15 th January). A pertinent estimate was published in December by the Peterson Institute of International Economics (Washington, DC), which said that exports of US goods to Cuba could reach $4.3 billion a year eventually – up from $360 million in 2013. Cuban exports going the opposite way could reach $5.8 billion at some point – up from zero now. The American telecom sector would seem poised to gure in that trade. The USA has pledged to ease the “establishment of commercial telecommunications facilities linking third countries and Cuba and in Cuba.” According to a Commerce Dept fact sheet, a new general licence by the O ce of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), a Treasury Dept unit, should ease the sales of “certain consumer devices, related software applications, hardware and services for communications-related systems.” There is no question that the demand is there. Ms Darrow sees “pent-up need” for communications and other tech services in Cuba where personal ownership of cell phones or computers was prohibited until 2009.

Image: www.bigstockphoto.com Photographer Zsolt Ercsel

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March 2015