Infrastructure that will place The City of Newcastle, New South Wales (NSW), at the forefront of Australian smart cities has started being rolled out with the first of seven sensor gateways installed at National Park.
A carrier-grade Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN) will be installed over the next six weeks to provide low cost, low-power connectivity that will support millions of wireless Internet of Things (IoT) sensors and data collecting devices.
Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said, “This is a very exciting high-tech development for the city.
“By investing in this infrastructure, we will provide a platform for community groups, education and research providers, industry, businesses and entrepreneurs to develop their own smart applications and ideas.
“From collecting information on foot traffic to the state of council-owned sporting grounds and enabling community and environmental groups to create their own coal dust sensors, this is a big technological breakthrough for the city.
“The seven gateways will enable connectivity that would have otherwise been far too costly.”
The network is the first large-scale LoRaWAN network in Australia and forms part of the Newcastle Smart City Strategy which was adopted in July last year.
The document outlines an ambitious Council-led collaboration to diversify the regional economy and encourage innovation while attracting investment.
The roll out of the LoRaWAN network is part of the Hunter Innovation Project (HIP), a collaboration between Council, The University of Newcastle, Newcastle Now and Hunter DiGiT.
The HIP is funded by a $9.8 million commitment from the NSW Government through the Hunter Infrastructure and Investment Fund and an $8 million contribution from its partners and investors.
The project involves the installation of smart technology and Wi-Fi throughout the city’s CBD by 2019 and subsequent innovation hub and digital precinct.
