Recent public infrastructure deals have demonstrated the joint benefits of combining smart city rollouts with mobile networks.

Venture expects more infrastructure deals to be completed as governments recognise the clear public policy benefits and Telcos roll out 5G networks faster.

Governments around the world have been exploring ways in which they can become smart cities. Assets such as light poles, bus stops, rubbish bins, public toilets and information kiosks are all now seen through the lens of smart street furniture which can provide local wi-fi, information, security and smart lighting features. However, these assets often lack connectivity to both the telecom and power networks. In parallel, driven by consumers downloading increasing amounts of mobile data and homes considering moving to wireless broadband services, Telco network operators have started to focus on the rollout of small cells. This focus will increase as 5G services are progressively rolled out and take on a larger range of connected service applications. However, many small cells sites require relatively long government planning cycles to deploy small cell infrastructure and network backhaul. This report explores the synergies for both Government and Telcos of leveraging street infrastructure assets into both smart city assets and network small cells.