Bell Mobility announced a managed Internet of Things (IoT) security service that offers businesses, smart cities and other organizations employing IoT solutions with an advanced layer of comprehensive security services to detect and respond to evolving cyber threats.

China has launched a blockchain-based smart cities identification solution, which will assign a unique global ID to smart cities infrastructure. It is expected that the new solution will enable better information sharing and connectivity between smart cities.

China is leading the global race in the development of smart cities with the world’s second-largest economy now having over 500 smart city projects either ready or under construction.

China has relaunched its fleet of high-speed bullet trains after capping speeds in 2011 following two tragic crashes that left 40 people dead. The top speed of the Fuxing or "rejuvenation" trains was capped at 300km/h after the accidents, but will now be increased to top speeds of up to 350km/h.

Nearly 79% of UAE residents said they would be happy living in a smart city  and more than half (53%) of them highlighted living in a sustainable city as the most exciting innovation for smart cities, according to a survey conducted by Mastercard in collaboration with Smart Dubai and Expo 2020 Dubai.

Cubic Transportation Systems’ (CTS) contactless payment system has expanded to Sydney’s train network. Heralded as a “game-changer for transport”, it will give commuters a wider choice to pay for ticketing including credit cards, smart watches, wearables and other electronic devices.

Transport for New South Wales’ plans to roll out the new contactless payment system follows its success on ferries and light rail. In 2017, the Manly Ferry was the first to receive the open payment system in a trial started by the project. As of March this year, more than 235,000 trips have been taken using the contactless payment technology.

“Expanding contactless in Sydney is a game-changer for transport and represents one of the biggest advancements in ticketing technology in years,” said Tom Walker, senior vice president and managing director of CTS, Asia-Pacific.

“We’re very proud that Sydney is helping to lead the way by embracing new technologies to provide the best services possible for passengers.”

The system is based on ticketing technology Cubic pioneered with Transport for London. Following its success in Australia, some of the contactless technology, software and equipment developed for Sydney will also be included in other cities such as New York, Boston and San Francisco in upcoming Cubic projects.

Significant investment from the CTA (Consumer Technology Association) and financial company Deloitte - has helped highlight the opportunities presented by the emerging sector in smart cities technology and solutions at this year’s CES 2018. The Consumer Technology Association has estimated that spending in the smart city sector will reach $34.35 billion by 2020.

Dallas has announced that it will pilot six new innovative 'smart city' programs aimed to improve connectivity and mobility issues in the city. The program is being spearheaded by the Dallas Innovation Alliance, which is a non-profit organization that brings the public and private sector together to design and execute a 'smart city' strategy for Dallas.

As the Middle East accelerates its digital transformation and Smart Cities growth, regional data center spend will reach a record-high of USD 5 billion by 2020, industry experts announced today ahead of GITEX Technology Week.

Dell Technologies, Vehant Technologies, and Graymatics and Wordsensing have decided to collaborate to develop and deliver smart city solutions in the areas of ‘Intelligent Traffic Management’ and ‘Safe City’ in India.

Deutsche Telekom has been working with representatives from various municipalities and cities to accelerate digitization in Germany.

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has launched the DEWA-SAT 1 nanosatellite in collaboration with NanoAvionics, becoming the world’s first utility to use nanosatellites to improve the maintenance and planning of electricity and water networks. This new achievement underlines DEWA’s leadership in developing and using the latest world-class technologies.

It is no doubt or surprise that technology has radically changed the way we go about our daily lives. Our hyper digital world has seen the rapid shift from rural to urban, greater smartphone adoption, an increase in intelligent devices per individual, tech savvy consumers and connected services. 

District 2020, Chinese investment and incubation company, announced a collaboration with Shanghai-based Atlas Capital Holding as the latest tenant to join its development project.

Abu Dhabi is focusing on stemming the impacts of climate change through various stringent policies and initiatives. Aligning to this objective, the Department of Municipalities and Transport (DMT) has put environmental sustainability at the top of its priorities by setting strict policies and procedures to tackle climate change challenges like extreme weather conditions, droughts, wildfires, storms, floods and sea level rise that affect the biodiversity, food security and water availability in the emirate.

Dr. Winnie Tang JP is an Honorary Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Hong Kong. She is one of the locally-bred IT entrepreneurs of Hong Kong and the Honorary President of Smart City Consortium. Over the years, she has been actively advocating the use of technology and sharing her views regarding the ICT industry, eHealth, environmental conservation, entrepreneurship and smart city concepts through her services in government and non-government organizations in Hong Kong.

Dubai has been rated as one of the top five cities in using smart technology to better the lives of its residents, according to the latest Smart Cities Index.

The Dubai Electronic Security Center (DESC) has announced the launch of the Dubai Cyber Think Tank, which aims to develop solutions to prevent cyberattacks and threats.

Dubai is fast moving toward achieving its goal of becoming the world's first government to execute all implementable transactions on blockchain by 2020, an international expert on blockchain has said.

In its effort to build efficient solutions for developing an aerial transport network in Dubai, Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with French mobility specialist MND, a leading company in the ropeways industry.