Towards the next smart city: What to expect from governments of the future

Two years later, governments worldwide are now preparing to lay down post-pandemic strategies, with digital efforts on the rise to attend to widespread developments against the ensuing use case enablers: Smart Cities.

With close to 7 out of 10 people expected to live in urban areas by 2050 and more than 80 percent of global GDP generated in cities, urbanisation can contribute to sustainable growth if managed well by increasing productivity, allowing innovation and new ideas to emerge.

Building cities that “work” – inclusive, healthy, resilient, and sustainable – requires end-to-end digital solutions. Public-private partnerships can do just that.

Governments have an important role to play to shape the future of their development, to create opportunities for all, and the telecom sector is grounding itself as a crucial intelligence services provider.

Governments are now increasingly unlocking services in terms of Government to Consumer (G2C) and Government to Government (G2G) which explains the telecom sector’s close alignment to the innovation wave, from automation to 5G enablement across networks and mobile devices.

Now more than ever before, telcos are set to breaking loose from traditional modes of operations as they transform into self-standing intelligence product and services providers for the benefit of cities, and governments of the future.

Digital Dubai Authority, previously known as Smart Dubai, is engaging with du in Dubai’s rapid development in various economic sectors as traditional processes need to be continuously updated to ensure efficiency and speed. Today, more than 90 percent of Dubai’s Government services are available online as a result .

The Dubai Blockchain Strategy is well underway towards harnessing economic opportunities for all sectors in the city, and cement Dubai’s reputation as a global technology leader, in line with Digital Dubai’s mandate to become global leader in the smart economy whilst fuelling entrepreneurship and global competitiveness. In line with this strategy lies our collaboration with Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA) over the migration of its data centers to Dubai Pulse Cloud.

Investing in new resources and infrastructure planning will no longer be necessary due to cloud migration, and the governing body can instead focus on solutions and applications.

In joining the Blockchain network, DCAA will also enjoy Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Blockchain Platform as a Service (BPaas), with du managing the components and operating model. The ability to exchange data digitally with greater security was provided through integration with the unified business registry network.

As part of a move to make Dubai the smartest city in the world, a further strategic partnership was made with Digital DEWA, the digital arm of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), a Dubai 10X Initiative, for the region’s first Industrial private 5G slicing through 5G stand-alone (SA) technology.

Under this initiative, du is building DEWA’s new mobile core edge infrastructure through Network Function Virtualisation (NFV) solution, which provides separation and independent scaling of control and user planes.

The region’s first Industrial 5G slicing through 5G SA technology will positively impact several sectors, including utilities, industrial, healthcare, transportation, airports, ports, media, and entertainment.

From private network vehicle-to-anything to autonomous driving, remote surgery, remote education and local hosting, the new technology will meet and exceed the emerging requirements of a wide range of users.

These key partnerships are a result of shared values to scale up innovative capabilities to cater to the needs of the population against the tide of digital transformation.

Digitisation is a powerful enabler across the value chain, from the application of big data analytics, Internet of Things (IoT) and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and technologies such as AI, Cloud Computing, and Augmented, Virtual Reality (AR/VR) at the benefit of enterprises, governments and societies alike – showing tremendous potential to advance into a new era of prosperity – one marked by innovation, and more genuine customer experiences.

And that also means empowering future generations in their daily interaction with governmental services.

Smart cities are already emerging from every corner of the world, and Dubai is taking up a leading role in driving digital vectors for its inhabitants, and the telecom sector is a key enabler to bringing these ambitions to life.

Jasim Al Awadi, Head of Government & Key Accounts, du