Bristol Is Open - NEC partnership aims to develop the open programmable city

NEC Corporation has signed a long-term partnership agreement with Bristol Is Open, a smart city initiative in the UK and a joint venture between Bristol City Council and the University of Bristol. It aims to create the world’s first open, programmable city to support the creation of innovative new smart services for people, business and academia. It intends to pave the way for improvements in a wide range of services, including traffic congestion, waste management, entertainment, e-democracy, and energy
February 10, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
1068 NEC Corporation has signed a long-term partnership agreement with Bristol Is Open, a smart city initiative in the UK and a joint venture between Bristol City Council and the University of Bristol.

It aims to create the world’s first open, programmable city to support the creation of innovative new smart services for people, business and academia. It intends to pave the way for improvements in a wide range of services, including traffic congestion, waste management, entertainment, e-democracy, and energy supply.

The partnership helps NEC to demonstrate new approaches to pervasive digital connectivity at city-scale, combined with its aim to create new social value for the changing world of tomorrow. It helps Bristol Is Open to further its goal of creating the world’s first open programmable city with a city-wide digital fabric that includes fibre in the ground, an experimental wireless mile, and a radio frequency (RF) mesh that covers the vast majority of the city.

NEC, Bristol Is Open and Bristol City Council are part of the €25m Replicate Lighthouse City consortium, alongside San Sebastián and Florence. The consortium will create integrated smart city solutions to tackle urban problems such as traffic congestion, poor air quality and unsustainable energy use. The consortium has received funding as part of the Smart Cities and Communities funding call, through EU’s Horizon 2020 innovation programme.

NEC has been supplying Bristol Is Open with advanced IT and communications technologies, including software-defined networking (SDN) compatible switches, LTE small cells and iPASOLINK ultra-compact microwave systems, helping them to build the smart city test bed platform.

The UK’s Digital Economy Minister Ed Vaizey said: "Bristol Is Open is one of the UK’s flagship digital smart city projects, led by the University of Bristol and Bristol City Council and part of the Government's super-connected cities programme. It's great to see NEC partner with Bristol Is Open, a collaboration that will help bring even more innovative technology and smarter services to Bristol residents and businesses."

For more information on companies in this article

NEC

Related Content

  • SDR a vital tool in assessing speed concerns
    March 23, 2012
    UK company Traffic Technology has supplied Surrey County Council with its SDR (speed detection radar) above ground vehicle classifier as part of the Drive Smart campaign, a partnership initiative involving Surrey County Council and Surrey Police that targets anti-social driving. Speeding was highlighted as the issue of greatest concern to local residents so all eleven boroughs or districts in Surrey have been supplied with at least two SDRs.
    Read More
  • Hyperloop One unveils nine routes across Europe as part of its Global Challenge
    June 6, 2017
    Executives from Hyperloop One joined European dignitaries and policymakers in Amsterdam, Holland today at its Vision for Europe summit to discuss transforming transportation across the continent with Hyperloop.
    Read More
  • Nissan Unveils advances in connected car technology
    April 10, 2012
    Carlos Ghosn, Nissan Motor Company's chief executive officer, has unveiled initiatives in automotive communications technology intended to move Nissan and Infiniti into a leadership position in the connected car content and services market. In announcing the collaboration with companies such as Google, Pandora Radio and Intel at the New York International Auto Show, Ghosn said, "It's clear that consumers expect to be connected wherever they are, and that includes the time spent in their automobiles. To mee
    Read More
  • UK government reveals £400m EV charging network boost
    September 13, 2018
    The UK government is providing £400m to create an electric vehicle (EV) charging point infrastructure, in partnership with the automotive industry. UK prime minister Theresa May says the government will ensure charge points can be easily accessed and available at motorway service stations and other petrol stations. There will also be £1.5bn for the development of ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEVS). Speaking at the country’s first Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Summit in Birmingham, May unveiled an ‘am
    Read More

Highlighted Content