Verizon has negotiated a tentative deal with the mayor of San Jose, California that will enable the carrier to deploy new network infrastructure while furthering San Jose’s smart city goals, from smart parking to traffic management.
San Jose’s city council will review the terms of the agreement at its next meeting on June 26. The deal includes deployment of fiber and attaching small cells to city-owned light poles, and Verizon will provide San Jose with three smart city solutions around intersection safety, traffic data and parking space management that are “designed to provide the city with data to both improve motorist and pedestrian safety, and better manage and monitor parking,” the carrier said. Verizon also will contribute to San Jose’s Digital Inclusion Fund that provides resources to expand internet access in the city, and fund the connecting of San Jose’s municipal vehicle fleet to Verizon Connect services.
The infrastructure deployment will boost Verizon’s current LTE services while laying the groundwork for future 5G deployments. AT&T also made an announcement today about bolstering its network infrastructure in San Jose, going on step further and saying that it plans to launch 5G in the tech hub — possibly as soon as the first half of 2019.
“We’ve committed to deploy fiber, small cells and also smart city solutions like parking management and traffic management, to really improve the lives of citizens today but also lay the foundation for the eventual evolution of wireless,” said Lauren Love-Wright, VP of network engineering at Verizon, in a video (see below) that the carrier put together about the agreement.
Verizon took a similar comprehensive strategy in a 10-year deal with the city of Sacramento last year, which also covered both infrastructure improvements and support of smart city and connectivity initiatives for Sacramento.
“This is a model for forward-looking mayors and cities to make investments now to improve the service now, but also lay the foundation for new technologies that are coming in the future,” said Love-Wright.
In a statement, San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo thanked Verizon for its “large investment towards improving service for our residents and businesses, and for their sizable contribution into our Digital Inclusion Fund. We are excited to work with Verizon to lay the foundation for future technology growth in San Jose and achieve our Smart City Vision.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwiN8vwio3Y
Image copyright: mtaira / 123RF Stock Photo
