Smart WiFi

WiFi networks are available in many different locations using a number of cost structures. 

The next iteration of WiFi is the use of WiFi to provide:

• Community Access
• Network Management for Smart Technologies 
• Smart Analytics for asset management and informing smart technology algorithms

Community use for this deeper aspect of WiFi is still in its infancy. Most communities seek recognition for making WiFi freely available, but the real gains are in the two other aspects.

Below, we explore the current status of Smart WiFi across Australia and elsewhere.

Adelaide South Australia - Written by Paul Budde

Adelaide - WiFi network basis for innovation hub

Adelaide was Australia's first capital city to offer free Wi-Fi outdoors in the city centre. This network set-up has formed the foundation for the creation of an Internet of Things (IoT) innovation hub, participants include the South Australian government, Adelaide City Council, and Cisco.

The project – launched in late 2014 - will see, a physical space that is expected to attract entrepreneurs and startups to collaborate, develop, and test applications that will eventually be installed and used for transport, healthcare, education, utilities, and energy through the Adelaide Free Wi-Fi network.

Under the agreement, Cisco will provide network infrastructure and expertise for testing and producing electronic products and applications that will be created at the hub.

There are four key services that be potentially delivered through this initiative and could change the way the city will be governed.

This includes traffic management; parking management, such as applications that can notify people where the best spots to park are and enable people to make parking reservations; enhancing the function of street lights, so it can monitor pollution levels and track traffic patterns; and waste management, so that bins can notify councils of when they're full, so they can be emptied.

Other potential applications could see connections between public transport, finding more efficient ways to move people in out of the city, and using technology to give tourists directions through 3D mapping.

While there are no specific expectations of what type of entrepreneurs and startups the initiative will attract, the hub has the potential to bring significant efficiencies.