Narayan AmmachchiUS telecom giant AT&T has reached an agreement with Mexican city Playa del Carmen to transform its urban landscape into a smart city.
The city administration says the aim is to use new technologies to enhance the quality of life and the potential for people to develop innovative ideas, according to local publication Riviera Maya News.
“Internet technology allows connecting objects, machines or ‘things’ to accelerate business and services, generate savings, improve safety and optimize mobility in cities,” said Andrés Canales, Vice President of Internet of Things at AT&T in Mexico.
Smart city technologies help the city make better use of energy resources and reduce crime by increasing security.
As part of the deal, AT&T will provide free Wi-Fi connectivity to allow the police force to monitor pedestrians and vehicular traffic.
There are already numerous closed-circuit (CC) cameras in Playa del Carmen, but AT&T will deploy yet more security cameras in addition to sensors that will monitor air quality.
The city administration says it wants to arm communities with infrastructure and technology, connecting most of its assets and devices to AT&T’s LTE-M network, which the company has already put to use to revive the city’s tourism sector.
“The commercial and tourist activity of Playa del Carmen has shown a great growth in recent years, therefore, having more connectivity will help to continue promoting this potential,” said Mayor Christine Torres Gómez. “An intelligent city represents a more accessible space for our inhabitants and is more attractive both for tourism service operators as well as for visitors and future investors.”
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