Digital

Foundations

ThePathto

People-CentredSmartCities

?2025GSMA

GSMA

TheGSMAisaglobalorganisationunifyingthemobile

ecosystemtodiscover,developanddeliverinnovation

foundationaltopositivebusinessenvironmentsandsocietalchange.Ourvisionistounlockthefullpowerofconnectivitysothatpeople,industryandsocietythrive.Representing

mobileoperatorsandorganisationsacrossthemobile

ecosystemandadjacentindustries,theGSMAdeliversforitsmembersacrossthreebroadpillars:ConnectivityforGood,IndustryServicesandSolutions,andOutreach.Thisactivityincludesadvancingpolicy,tacklingtoday’sbiggestsocietal

challenges,underpinningthetechnologyandinteroperabilitythatmakemobilework,andprovidingtheworld’slargest

platformtoconvenethemobileecosystemattheMWCandM360seriesofevents.

Weinviteyoutofindoutmoreat

與NA

Intelligence

GSMAIntelligenceisthedefinitivesourceofglobalmobileoperatordata,analysisandforecasts,andpublisherof

authoritativeindustryreportsandresearch.Ourdatacoverseveryoperatorgroup,networkandMVNOineverycountryworldwide–fromAfghanistantoZimbabwe.Itisthemost

accurateandcompletesetofindustrymetricsavailable,comprisingtensofmillionsofindividualdatapoints,

updateddaily.

info@

@GSMAi

Authors:KinyaMugaine,ZachWhite,GeorgeKibalaBauer,SayaliBorole,andKenechiOkeleke

Published:June2025

GSMADigitalUtilities

Utilityservicessuchasenergy,water,sanitation,waste

managementandtransportareessentialtolife.TheDigitalUtilitiesprogrammeenablesaccesstoaffordable,reliable,

safeandsustainableurbanutilityservicesforlow-income

populationsthroughdigitalsolutionsandinnovative

partnerships.Indoingso,wealsoseektosupportcitiesin

low-andmiddle-incomecountriesintheirtransitiontoalowcarbon,climate-resilientfuture.

Formoreinformation,pleasevisit:

/digitalutilities

UkInternational

partnership|progress|prosperity

ThismaterialhasbeenfundedbyUKInternational

DevelopmentfromtheUKGovernmentandissupportedbytheGSMAanditsmembers.Theviewsexpresseddonot

necessarilyreflecttheUKGovernment’sofficialpolicies.

DigitalFoundations:ThePathtoPeople-CentredSmartCities

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DigitalFoundations:ThePathtoPeople-CentredSmartCities

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DigitalFoundations:ThePathtoPeople-CentredSmartCities

Foreword

Citiesacrosstheworldareexperiencingan

eraofprofoundtransformation.Nowhereis

thismoreevidentthanintherapidlyurbanizingregionsofAfricaandAsia,whichtogetherwillaccountfor90%ofglobalurbangrowthby

2050.Thisunprecedentedexpansionbringsboth

challengesandopportunities.Ononehand,cities

facemountingpressuresfromclimatechange,

infrastructuredeficits,andtheneedforinclusive

servicedelivery.Ontheother,digitaltechnologies—whenthoughtfullydeployed—offerapathwayto

resilient,people-centredurbanfutures.

Attheheartofeverysmartcityliesasetofdigital

foundations:robustconnectivity,digitalidentity,

interoperablepayments,andopendataplatforms.

Theseelementsarenotonlytechnological

prerequisites;theyareenablersofinclusion,

efficiency,andinnovation.India’sjourneywith

Aadhaar(biometricID),theUnifiedPayments

Interface(UPI),andtheUnifiedEnergyInterface

(UEI)exemplifieshowdigitalpublicinfrastructure

candrivetargetedservicedelivery,financial

inclusion,andrapidinnovation.Theshifttoward

opennetworksandinteroperabilityisadefining

trend.InitiativesliketheGSMAOpenGatewayand

theadoptionofstandardizedAPIsaremakingit

easierfordevelopersandenterprisestobuildontopofexistingconnectivityplatforms,acceleratingthedeploymentofnewservicesacrosssectorssuchasmobility,energy,andpublicsafety.

Mobileoperatorsareatthecentreofthis

transformation.Theirrolehasevolvedfrom

providingbasicconnectivitytobecomingend-

to-enddigitalpartners—offeringcloudandedge

computing,AI-poweredanalytics,digitalpayments,andsector-specificplatformsforutilities,transport,andpublicsafety.InIndia,forexample,partnershipsbetweenoperatorsandutilitieshaveacceleratedthedeploymentofsmartmeters,reducinglossesand

improvingrevenuecollection.

Thebusinessopportunityissubstantial.The

addressablemarketforIoT-enabledsmartcity

solutionsinthefocusregionsisforecasttoreach

$38.3billionby2030,withIndiaalonerepresentingacumulative$11.5billionopportunity.Importantly,thevalueisshiftingfrombasicconnectivitytoplatformsandservices,underscoringtheneedforoperators

tomoveupthevaluechain.Despitesignificant

progress,challengesremain.Theseincludethe

highinitialcostsofadvancedIoTmodules,the

needforwidespread5GSAcoverage,andthe

imperativeforrobustdatagovernanceandprivacysafeguards.Successwillrequirecoordinatedpolicyframeworks,sustainedinvestmentindigitalskills

andinfrastructure,andacommitmenttoinclusive,climate-resilienturbandevelopment.

Thisreportisbothatestamenttotheprogress

madeandacalltoaction.Thejourneytopeople-centredsmartcitiesisnotaracefortechnology

deploymentbutasocietaltransformation.By

harnessingdigitalfoundations,openplatforms,

andcross-sectorpartnerships,citiescanbecomeenginesofsustainablegrowthandopportunity

forall.Thetimetoactisnow—sothatthecitiesoftomorrowarenotonlysmart,buttrulypeople-centred,resilient,andinclusive.

Siddharth

Talawadekar

VP,BusinessHeadIoT&CPaaS

Airtel

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Contents

Foreword4

Executivesummary8

1

Theemergenceofsmartcities10

1.1Introduction11

1.2Thedigitalfoundationsofsmartcities13

1.3Keyactorsandsolutions17

1.4Nationalstrategies18

1.5Developmentparadigms27

1.6Financingsmartcities31

2

Operatorrolesinsmartcitydeployments36

2.1Addressablemarketto203037

2.2Theevolvingroleofmobileoperators41

3

Marketcasestudies50

3.1SouthandSoutheastAsianmarketcasestudies51

3.2Africanmarketcasestudies63

4

Outlookandprospects76

4.1Thesmartcityopportunityacrossmarkets77

4.2Driversinnationalpolicy78

4.3Driversincity-levelpolicy78

4.4Ecosystemdrivers79

4.5Harnessingsmartcitiesforclimateanddevelopmentoutcomes80

Annex82

Endnotes84

Abbreviations

ADB

AsianDevelopmentBank

AfDB

AfricanDevelopmentBank

AI

Artificialintelligence

AMI

Advancedmeteringinfrastructure

AMR

Automaticmeterreading

API

Applicationprogramminginterface

ARPU

Averagerevenueperuser

AT&C

Aggregatetechnicalandcommercial

CAGR

Compoundannualgrowthrate

CCI

CharterCitiesInstitute

DPI

Digitalpublicinfrastructure

EV

Electricvehicle

FDI

Foreigndirectinvestment

FWA

Fixedwirelessaccess

G2G

Government-to-government

G2P

Government-to-person

GIFTCity

GujaratInternationalFinanceTec-City

ICCCs

Integratedcommandandcontrolcentres

IEA

InternationalEnergyAgency

KYC

Know-your-customer

LMICs

Low-andmiddle-incomecountries

LPWA

Lowpowerwidearea

M/DFIs

Multilateralanddevelopmentfinanceinstitutions

M2M

Machine-to-machine

ML

Machinelearning

MNOs

Mobilenetworkoperators

MSMEs

Micro,small,andmediumenterprises

NFC

Nearfieldcommunication

NSA

Non-standalone

P2G

Person-to-governmen

P2P

peer-to-peer

PAYG

Pay-as-you-go

PPAs

Powerpurchaseagreements

PPPs

Public-privatepartnerships

RDSS

RevampedDistributionSectorScheme

RedCap

Reducedcapability

SA

Standalone

SCM

SmartCitiesMission

SCODA

SouthAfricanCitiesOpenDataAlmanac

SCODP

SmartCitiesOpenDataPlatform

SDGs

SustainableDevelopmentGoals

SEZ

Specialeconomiczone

SPVs

Specialpurposevehicles

TAM

Totaladdressablemarket

UN-Habitat

UNHumanSettlementProgramme

UPI

UnifiedPaymentsInterface

VC

Venturecapital

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Executivesummary

Urbangrowthto2050willbedrivenbycitiesin

AfricanandAsiancountries.Over2.2billionof

theadditional2.5billionurbanresidentswillbe

inthoseregions,withIndia,NigeriaandChina

accountingforathirdofthegrowth.Whilecitiesintheseregionshavesubstantiallyloweremissionspercapitathanhigh-incomecounterparts,for

theworldtoachievenet-zeroby2050urban

developmentinlow-andmiddle-incomecountries(LMICs)mustfollowadifferentpaththanhistoricemissionstrajectories.Atthesametime,these

citiesareoftenattheforefrontoffacingclimate-relatedrisks,includingstormsurges,heatstress,extremeprecipitation,flooding,andlandslides.

Rapidurbanisationandclimatechangehinder

cities’abilitytoeffectivelyplanandinvestin

essentialservicesandinfrastructure.Thisistrue

forbothmegacitiesaswellasrapidlygrowing

intermediarycities.Inresponse,manylocal

governmentsareturningtodigitalsolutionstofill

criticaldatagaps,advanceclimateaction,and

enhancetheaccessibility,affordabilityandreliabilityofessentialurbanservices.

Mobilenetworkoperatorsarecentraltodeliveringsmartcitysolutions,particularlyinLMICswhere

rapiddigitaladoptionisdrivingfasterdeploymentsandscale.Majortechnologicalchangeshaveshiftedtheboundsofwhatispossibleforurbansolutions,

notably,5Gandnetworkslicing,LowPowerWide

Area(LPWA)connectivity,digitalpaymentplatformsanddevelopmentsinartificialintelligence(AI).

Thisreporttakesstockofthetrendsshaping

smartcitydeploymentsacrossSub-Saharan

Africa,SouthandSoutheastAsia.Theopportunityformobileoperatorsisquantifiedthroughtotal

addressablemarketforecastsforeightcountries—Egypt,Nigeria,Kenya,SouthAfrica,India,Indonesia,Malaysia,andPakistan—andacrossregions.The

reportprofilesleadingusecases,mobileoperator

engagementandpositioning,andreviewsindetailthepolicyandtechnologycontext.

Theevolvingcontext

Thereisanincreasinglystrongpolicyfoundationforsmartcityimplementation.Smartcity

objectivesarecommonlyembeddedacross

nationalurbanisationplans,digitaltransformationagendasandnationalvisions.Additionally,sixof

theeightmarketsreviewedhadaspecificnationalstrategy.InaUNsurveyof250municipalities,

44%hadadedicatedcity-levelplan,withthese

notablymoreprevalentinhigherincomeand

Asiancountries.Strongnationalprogrammes,

suchastheSmartCitiesMissioninIndia,have

beenkeyindrivingprogress.Beyondfinancial

resources,theseprogrammesprovidecleara

structureforimplementation,enablingpublic-

privatecollaborationandthecreationofcentresofexpertisewithinmunicipalities.

EmergingtechnologiesIoT,AI,GIS,cloud

computingandopendataplatformsareframed

ascriticalinstrategies.WhilepredictiveAIhaslongbeencentraltosmartgrids,theadvancementsin

generativeAIenhancethiscapacity.Connectivityandbroadbandinfrastructurearekeytothe

implementationofnationalstrategies,thisis

oftenexpressedthroughcommitmentstoexpand

broadbandaccessthroughfibre,publicWi-Fi,mobilenetworks(3G/4G/5G)andfixedwirelessaccess.

Akeytrendinsmartcitydeploymentsacross

LMICsisthegrowthof‘new’citygreenfield

projects.Between2000and2020,159newcity

projectswerelaunchedworldwide,comparedto126between1945to1999.Inmanycasesthesenew

citiesarefocalpointsforsmartcityimplementation.Retrofittinginfrastructureandserviceprovision

inexistingcitiescanbeuptothreetimesmoreexpensivethanplanningforinfrastructurein

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DigitalFoundations:ThePathtoPeople-CentredSmartCities

advanceofsettlement,whichisakeyreasongreenfieldapproachescanbemorefavoured.

Whilegreenfieldprojectsattractsignificant

investment,brownfieldinterventionsoften

haveagreaterpotentialforimprovingservice

outcomes.Intermediarycitiesofferaninterestingstrategicopportunitytoreapsomeofthe

advantagesassociatedwithgreenfieldprojects

whilesafeguardingagainstbrownfieldrisksand

accommodatingurbangrowth.Oftenoverlookedinnationalurbanstrategies,intermediarycities

playimportantrolesasproduction,transportationandprocessinghubs,linkingregionalandnationalurbansystems.

Operatorrolesinsmartcities

Theincreasinglyrichconnectivityofferis

expandingtherangeofusecasesforsmartcities.Thetransitiontostandalone(SA)5Gissettounlockultra-reliablelow-latencycommunication,massivemachine-typecommunications,edgecomputing

andnetworkslicing.Crucially,5GSAarchitectureenablesmultiplevirtualnetworkstocoexiston

thesamephysicalinfrastructure,eachtailoredtospecificservicerequirements.Forexample,acitycanallocateahigh-prioritysliceforemergency

responsewhilemaintainingseparateslicesforutilitiesortrafficmanagement.

Acrossmarketsoperatorsaretransformingfrom

connectivityproviderstoend-to-endtechnology

partners.Withslowinggrowthintraditional

revenues,ithasbecomeessentialforoperatorsto

repositionthemselvesasdigitalserviceproviders.

Operatorsaredoingthisthroughexpandingplatformofferings–oftenbuiltonmobilemoney,dedicated

sector-specificofferings,andpartnershipswith

cloudproviders,analyticsfirms,anddevice

manufacturers.Between2020and2024,smartcityIoTconnectionsincreasedfrom173to271million,

andwillincreaseanother222millionto2030.

Acrossthefourregionsreviewedthisequatestoacumulativerevenueopportunityof$38billion.

Keydriversforsmartcityadoption

Strongnationalleadershipisessentialfor

developingthesmartcityecosystem.Clearnationalpoliciesthatofferblueprintsforimplementation

havebeenacatalyticformarketdevelopment.In

countrieswithamorenascentecosystem,thereisa

clearneedtostrengtheninstitutionalcapacityacrossalllevelsofgovernment.Smartcitiesrequireboth

technicalexpertise,aswellasadministrativeskills,includingprojectcoordination,ingovernmentandtheprivatesector.

Municipalitiesandlocalbodiesareatthecentre

ofurbandevelopmentandguideacity’sstrategicvision.Localgovernments,supportedbynationalgovernment,canbuildinternalexpertiseor

collaboratetoestablishcommonframeworksforregulatingthetechnical,legalandethicalaspectsofsmartcityprojects.City-levelstaffarekeyin

ensuringsolutionsareimpactfulanddeliveredequitablyandshouldbeafocusinanycapacitybuildinginitiatives.

Operatorshaveanopportunitytoincreasetheir

valueofferingbeyondconnectivityinsmartcity

initiatives.Thisincludesnetworkupgradesor

formingpartnershipstoexpandintoothervalue

chainlayers.Inmanycases,thereareopportunitiestoinvestinin-houseexpertiseandcapacity

building.Whileitmaynotbenecessarytoestablishdedicatedsmartcitydivisions,itisessential

foroperatorstocultivateateamofspecialiststhroughouttheorganisation.

Localtechstartupecosystemsarekeyin

developingnewandtailoredsmartcityofferings.Harnessingthepotentialofthelocaltechstartup

ecosystemforsmartcitydevelopmentmayentailactiveinvestmentsandincentivesprovidedby

governments,fosteringindustrycollaborations–includingwithoperators-andencouragingtheirparticipationinsandboxesdesignedforsmartcitysolutionstopromoteinnovation.

Smartcityapproachescreateoptionstoadvanceinclusivedevelopmentandclimateresilience.

Whiletheriskofsmartcityprojectsbecominghigh-cost,high-tech,eliteenclavesdetachedfromwidernationaldevelopmentchallengesispresent,smartcitysolutions–whenthoughtfullyapplied–canbetransformative.Acceleratedeffortsareneededto

closethedigitaldivideandensuresmartsolutionsareinclusiveandrespectdataprivacy.Broad

inclusionalsosafeguardsvulnerableresidentsandenhancestheoverallresilienceofcities.Torealisethepotentialgains,itisimportanttogobeyondthehypeandbigprojectannouncementstofocuson

specificinterventionsandusecasesandrigorouslyevaluatetheirdevelopmentandclimateimpact.

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Theemergenceofsmartcities

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DigitalFoundations:ThePathtoPeople-CentredSmartCities

1.1Introduction

Urbanisationto2050isapredominantlyAfrican

andAsianstory.CountriesacrossAfricaandAsia

havealreadyexperiencedsignificanturbanisation

inthepastfewdecades,withanadditional1.2

billionurbanresidentsintheseregionssince2000.

Between2018and2050theworld’surbanpopulationisexpectedtogrowbyanother2.5billionpeople,

withAfricanandAsiancitiesaccountingfor90%ofthisgrowth.Together,India,ChinaandNigeriawill

accountformorethanathirdofthisgrowth.

,

12The

numberofcitiesinlow-incomecountriesisexpectedtoincreaseby76%betweennowand2070,

comparedto20%inlower-middle-incomecountriesand6%inupper-middle-incomecountries.

Beyondrapidpopulationgrowth,citiesinlow-

andmiddle-incomecountries(LMICs)arealso

increasinglyvulnerabletotheimpactofclimate

change,includingrisingsealevelsandstorm

surges,heatstress,extremeprecipitation,inland

andcoastalflooding,andlandslides.Citiesare

alsosignificantcontributorstoclimatechange,

accountingfor70%ofglobalcarbonemissions.

WhilecitiesinLMICshavethesubstantiallylower

emissionspercapita,iftheworldistoachieve

net-zeroemissionsby2050thesecitiesmustgrowwithoutfollowingthehistoricemissionstrajectoriesofcitiesinhigh-incomecountries.Theconcurrentchallengesofrapidurbanisationandclimate

changemakeitdifficultforcitiestoplanandinvesteffectivelyinessentialservicesandinfrastructure.Thisistrueforbothmegacitiesaswellasrapidly

growingintermediarycities.Inresponse,many

localgovernmentsareturningtodigitalsolutionstofillcriticaldatagaps,advanceclimateaction,and

enhancetheaccessibility,affordabilityandreliabilityofessentialurbanservices.

Emerginginthe1990sbutgainingprominence

inthe2010s,thesmartcityagendasetsouttheelementsofdigitaltransformationinthecontextofcity-levelservices.Alooseconcept,“smart

city”hasnoformaldefinition,withpriorities

andfocusareasusuallyguidedbynational

policyframeworks.Notably,IndiaandChina

havelargenationalsmartcityprogrammeswithaccompanyingdefinitions.

,

34In2023theUnitedNationsadoptedaresolutiondefining“people-centredsmartcities”,andtheUnitedNations

HumanSettlementProgramme(UN–Habitat)and

theirpartnershaveflagshipsmartcityprogrammesthatsupportactivitiesunderthisframework.

Asmartcityis“aninnovativecitythatusesinfor-

mationandcommunicationtechnologiesandother

meanstoimprovequalityoflife,efficiencyofurban

operationandservices,andcompetitiveness,while

ensuringthatitmeetstheneedsofpresentandfuturegenerationswithrespecttoeconomic,social,environ-mentalaswellasculturalaspects.

UNResolutionHSP/HA.2/Res.1,6July2023

5

1.UNDESA.(n.d.).

Around2.5billionmorepeoplewillbelivingincitiesby2050,projectsnewUNreport

.Pressrelease.

2.UN-Habitat.(2022).

WorldCitiesReport2022:EnvisagingtheFutureofCities

.Report.

3.Huang,K.etal.(2021).

CharacteristicsandProblemsofSmartCityDevelopmentinChina

.SmartCities.

4.MinistryofUrbanDevelopment,GovernmentofIndia.(2015).

SmartCityMissionStatementandGuidelines

.Policydocument.

5.UnitedNationsHabitatAssembly.(2023).

ResolutionHSP/HA.2/Res.1

.Policydocument.

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Althoughthesmartcityconcepthasbeeninuseforthepast30to40years,inmanycontextsthedigitalfoundationsareonlynowinplace.Ina

globalsurveyof250municipalitiestheUNfound

that,onaverage,therewasanationalsmartcity

planin54%ofcountriessurveyedand44%of

municipalities.6

Asiancountrieshadthehighest

numberofnationalplans(75%)whileAfrican

countrieshadtheleast(36%).Nationalplans

werealsomoreprevalentinupper-middle-income(70%),andlower-middle-incomecountries(56%)thaninhigh-incomecountries(48%),andtheleastprevalentinlow-incomecountries(29%).These

strategiesaresupportinganincreasinglywide

rangeofusecases,andwhilecitiesinhigh-incomecountriescontinuetodominatesmartcityindices,morediverseandinnovativeusecasesarebeing

documentedinLMICs.

,

78

Mobilenetworkoperators(MNOs)playacentral

roleindeliveringsmartcitysolutions.Since

theemergenceofthesmartcityconcept,major

technologicalchangeshaveshiftedtheboundsof

whatispossible.Notably,5Gandnetworkslicing,

LowPowerWideArea(LPWA)connectivity,digitalpaymentplatformsanddevelopmentsinartificial

intelligence(AI)anddigitaltwins.Whilethesmart

cityagendahasbeenahigh-andupper-middle-

incomecountryphenomenon,therapidpaceof

digitaladoptionacrossLMICshasenabledsmart

citysolutionstobedeployedandscaledmore

widely,withoperatorsplayingacentralrole.With

thegrowthinvoiceanddatarevenuesslowing,it

hasbecomeessentialforoperatorstoreposition

themselvesasdigitalserviceproviders.9

Withthe

strongpotentialforgrowthacrossAI,theInternetofThings(IoT),cloudandedgecomputing,anddigital

payment-enabledusecases.10

6.UN-Habitat.(2022).

GlobalReviewofSmartCityGovernancePractices

.Report.

7.IMD.(2024).

SmartCityIndex

.Report

8.UN-Habitat.(2024).

WorldSmartCitiesOutlook

.Report.

9.GSMAi.(2022).

Thechangingshapeofsmartcities:newtrendsandnewrolesfor

operators

.Report.

10.GSMA.(2023).

IoTandEssentialUtilityServices:Opportunitiesinlow-andmid-

dle-incomecountries

.Report.

Scope,structureandobjectivesofthisreport

Thisreporttakesstockofthetrendsshaping

smartcitydeploymentsacrossSub-Saharan

Africa,SouthAsiaandSoutheastAsia.Itaims

toquantifytheopportunitiesformobileoperators

intheseregionsandhighlightssomeofthe

approachestakenbygovernmentstoadvance

thesmartcityagenda.Italsoaimstodemystify

thehypearoundsmartcities,providingexamples,usecasesandperspectivesthatclearlyhighlight

howsmartcityinterventionscansupportpositive

developmentoutcomesandadvanceclimate

action,whilealsopayingattentiontoriskssuch

asdataprivacy,exclusion,inequalityandcapital

intensity.Eightcasestudymarkets(Egypt,Nigeria,Kenya,SouthAfrica,India,Indonesia,Malaysia,andPakistan)anchorthediscussioninnationalpolicy

andimplementationcontexts.

?Chapter1outlinessomeofthekeytrends

shapingsmartcityprojects.Thisincludesthedigitalfoundations,thepolicycontext,smart

citydevelopmentparadigmsandfinancingconsiderations.

?Chapter2presentsnewtotaladdressable

marketforecaststo2030forkeysmartcity

solutionsutilisingIoTdevices.Thischapter

alsodiscusseshowoperatorsinLMICsare

positioningthemselvesstrategicallytobenefitfromsmartcitymarketopportunities,andthe

businessfunctions,usecasesandthemestheyareprioritising.

?Chapter3featureseightmarketcasestudieswithsmartcitydevelopmentsandnational

marketforecasts.Thischapterprovidesa

deeperanalysisofsmartcitymarketdynamics,growthforecastsandexamplesofMNO-led

initiatives.

?Chapter4summariseskeyinsightsintothe

evolutionofsmartcitiesinLMICs,andidentifiesimportantconsiderationsforgovernmentsatthenationalandlocallevel.Thischapteralsodrawsconclusionsonhowsmartcitiescanbeharnessedtodrivedevelopmentandclimateaction,andhowpolicymakerscannavigatesomeofthetrade-offsandrisksassociatedwithsmartcities.

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1.2Thedigitalfoundationsofsmartcities

Regardlessoftheusecaseorservice,thereare

fundamentalbuildingblocksandtechnology

trendsdrivingsmartcitydeployments.Alldigital

solutionsrelytosomeextentondigitalidentity,

digitalpaymentsanddataexchangesystems–allofwhichrestonconnectivity.Akeytrendisforthesetobedeployedasinteroperable,modularandreusablesystemsoperatingacrossanecosystem,eitherin

theformofdigitalpublicinfrastructure(DPI),opennetworks,orthroughinteroperableprivates