By
June 20, 2024
New research by Chorus and the New Zealand IoT Alliance has uncovered the huge growth opportunity and innovation potential for IoT. Close to half of our country’s technology leaders (48%) are currently investing or intend to invest in non-premise high-bandwidth IoT.
A key part of a connected New Zealand is the acceleration and uptake of IoT, with non-premise IoT representing a sizeable portion of this, says Kriv Naicker, chair of New Zealand IoT Alliance. Non-premise IoT connections are external infrastructure assets that can become IoT applications, for example, traffic lights, bus stops, outdoor billboards and CCTVs. “We estimate that better use of IoT could create at least $2.2 billion in net economic benefit for New Zealand over the next ten years. We are starting to see its impact across smart city infrastructure, electric vehicle charging stations, utility, security monitoring, and digital billboards,” said Naicker.
The new research shows improved customer experience is the number one benefit technology leaders are realising from their high-bandwidth IoT investments. This aligns with why investments into high-bandwidth IoT are being made initially, with the second highest driver being the desire to offer better customer experiences (55%). Better integration with new tools like AI, cloud, and edge computing is the number one driver of high-bandwidth IoT adoption (58%).
IoT networks have typically relied on cellular or licensed networks like Cat-M and NB-IoT for connectivity, but now fibre is unlocking a world of possibilities.
Fibre allows IoT networks, that collect enormous amounts of data, to have the same speed, bandwidth, and reliability at non-premise locations as within buildings. This has led to a shift in IoT connectivity needs, and ultimately the reason why Chorus’ Smart Locations solution is helping to unleash the full potential of IoT networks.
The research also supports several use cases of high bandwidth IoT, emerging from environmental and weather monitoring, improved road and traffic infrastructure planning and monitoring, public safety, and security, to water and utility infrastructure monitoring. These use cases help to increase productivity, and provide real cost savings, alongside improving citizen and customer experiences.
With 30% of New Zealand’s population residing in the Auckland region, a smart city approach to solve urban challenges, enhance infrastructure, promote sustainability, and improve quality of life is essential. Watercare supplies 400 million litres of water to Aucklanders every day. This water is drawn from 27 sources, treated, and supplied to homes and businesses via a colossal network of pipes.
Watercare’s team meticulously check its system for faults and unusual events such as floods, blockages, and breaches to ensure people have access to the highest quality drinking water. Watercare relies on CCTV cameras to monitor this, the power of fibre connectivity and Chorus Smart Locations at their water filtration sites. As Auckland’s population is expected to grow by almost half a million people over the next 20 years, the utility company is futureproofing its forecasting and scenario planning with models by collecting real-time data. Modelling allows Watercare to plan and operationalise changes in the face of climate change and changing population needs.
“We work with Chorus as its Smart Locations high-bandwidth fibre solution can bring reliable and resilient connectivity to our water treatment facilities and assets – some of which are quite remote, which is a feat in itself,” says Nick Rogers, Head of Digital Platforms at Watercare. “Having access to resilient connectivity also means that we’re able to better maintain and monitor our system for faults, thus unlocking cost savings in the long-run.”
Another organisation that’s experiencing the benefits of fibre combined with smart city planning is Far North District Council. They have implemented Chorus’ Smart Locations solution in the Bay of Islands to enable connectivity for real-time CCTV security and safety, free community WiFi, traffic lights, streetlights, and even smart bins and benches.
High-speed, high-quality CCTV footage is helping to provide real-time safety support for the community. The data collected from its CCTV cameras allow Far North District Council to make fact-based decisions about infrastructure, including roads, parks, and other community facilities.
Free, reliable WiFi provided by the council also means people can stay connected around the main centres without dropping out or running out of data. It’s also allowed the organisation to do away with paper forms. Tom Frost, chief digital officer of Far North District Council says, “The community response to the delivery of public WiFi has been amazing as the free access to the Internet, via fibre connectivity, is giving affordable access to digital services they wouldn’t previously have had. “
As our nation’s tech leaders work to build a smarter, more connected New Zealand, the transformative power of IoT, hand-in-hand with fibre and new technologies like AI, cloud and edge computing cannot be underestimated. For more insights and priority use cases on fibre-enabled, non-premise IoT take a look at Chorus and the New Zealand IoT Alliance’s report titled, Solving problems with fibre-enabled IoT.