SMBs seek smarter, better smart city living for Kiwis

Start-ups and innovators came together to shape better living in New Zealand’s future smart cities.

Facilitated by ng Connect, a collaborative innovation program designed to accelerate new connected service concepts and business models, the meeting was hosted by Chorus with participation from major ng Connect members Alcatel-Lucent, Auckland University of Technology and Auckland Transport as well as key start-ups and innovation leaders.

Alcatel-Lucent Head of Emerging Technology and Commercialisation, Richard Fraser, says the two day event would help identify high-tech solutions to real-world problems such as traffic congestion and infrastructure management.

“New Zealand is leading the world as a connected nation and there’s a real opportunity to create new ways to make our cities smarter, more efficient and better places to live," he says.

"This meeting has a clear goal to identify how participants can collaborate to create new service models to benefit New Zealand cities.

"It’s an exciting process but the important thing is that we come up with tangible, realistic solutions to develop together."

In late 2013, ng Connect was announced a key component of the Chorus Gigatown competition to create the most highly connected urban centre in New Zealand.

At the end of the year-long competition, ng Connect and Chiorus will commit to a development fund to cover the commercialisation of new services over gigabit fibre for entrepreneurs and innovators.

ng Connect is an initiative of Alcatel-Lucent, developed over recent years in the US. New Zealand is the first expansion market while development is also underway in Australia.

Alcatel-Lucent is a global leader in communications, providing products and innovations in IP and cloud networking, as well as ultra-broadband. Key customers in New Zealand include Chorus and Telecom.