Quantela and Cisco have developed an outcome-based project financing model for smart city projects. It was unveiled at last month’s Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona.
 
The model can help cities get started on their smart city projects by converting the upfront capex investment to an outcome-based payment that is tied to achieving service level agreements and project KPIs.
 
Cities globally are in a state of transition that is impacting them in multiple ways: budgetary pressures of having to deliver more with less; and capacity pressures due to rapid urbanisation. Some of the key concerns on the minds of city mayors are: How can they find new opportunities for revenue maximisation and cost optimisation? How can they attract investments into the city and create vibrant public-private partnerships? How do they derive value with the data being collected by the city from various sources? How can they provide a good quality of life for the residents?
 
With such forces in action, cities and municipal corporations globally must adopt different financial structures that would help them acquire technology to deliver more efficient and cost-effective urban infrastructure services such as reducing energy consumption for public street lighting, reducing traffic congestion and improving revenues from city parking, improving efficiencies related to waste collection, and bridging the digital divide using city wifi services.
 
One of the first cities in North America that has embraced the model is Erie in Pennsylvania to launch the second phase of its secure smart city project that will be implemented in the city’s opportunity zones. The project scope will involve the operations of Cisco’s Kinetic for Cities platform combined with Quantela’s Atlantis Intelligence to launch smart city services.
 
“Cities worldwide are harnessing the power of technology to reduce traffic congestion, bridge the digital divide, enhance connectivity, promote economic development, fight crime and make local governments more sustainable and resilient,” said Erie mayor Joe Schember. “We are excited to partner with Cisco and Quantela to execute this ambitious project and what it can mean for Erie’s growth as a centre of innovation.”
 
California-based Quantela is a Cisco’s Smart+Connected Communities partner implementing projects worldwide.