STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Nov. 19, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --
* Global urbanization trends require transformative Information and
Communications Technology (ICT) solutions for citizen mobility, governance
and business
* Ericsson invited industry leaders and academics to join its City Index
endeavor, measuring ICT maturity in economic, social and environmental
development
* Collaboration announced with UN-Habitat for research and engagements to
promote socially, economically and environmentally sustainable cities
leveraging ICT investments
* Announced connected transport initiative to analyze effective deployment of
ICT solutions concerning vehicles, roads, and travelers
At the close of its second think-tank event called NEST - The Networked Society
Forum, Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) announced its commitment to promoting industry-
wide collaboration to improve city life.
The theme of NEST was "Reinventing Urban Life," and for two days, a range of
leaders from government, planning, public opinion, and telecommunication,
including Don Tapscott, Steven Levitt, Jimmy Wales and more, joined Ericsson
President and CEO Hans Vestberg and one hundred ICT industry leaders to consider
how the combination of mobility, broadband and cloud could offer solutions in
aspects of urbanization.
Vestberg said: "With one million people moving into cities every week, urban
life represents some of the world's greatest challenges and opportunities. ICT
is an integral and natural part of everything we do in this urbanized world, and
Ericsson has once again gathered a leading group of thinkers and doers to help
point the way forward for our industry."
Networked Society City Index
On Tuesday, Ericsson released its 2013 Networked Society City Index report,
which looks at how cities benefit from ICT in order to achieve sustainable
progress. The report ranks Stockholm, London and Singapore as top three cities,
all showing high ICT maturity and good triple bottom line performance. At NEST,
Ericsson invited city officials including planners and politicians as well as
leaders in the business world to join the City Index endeavor, hoping to spread
the study base from 31 cities to the 450 cities of the world that host
populations of one million or more.
"To solve systemic issues of traffic congestion, CO2 emissions, trash
collection, residential crowding, and more, collaboration is the only way we
will bring workable solutions to cities," said Vestberg. "ICT cannot solve
anything by itself. If we can bring together representatives from public and
private domains, we will surely find unexpected, innovative ways to have a
positive impact on city life."
Partnership with UN-Habitat
Another initiative announced at the event was a planned three-year partnership
with UN-Habitat, the agency mandated by the United Nations to promote socially
and environmentally sustainable towns and cities. For the next three years,
Ericsson and UN-Habitat will embark on collaborative research and specific
initiatives which aim to provide valuable insights for city leaders and
policymakers.
"Ericsson's role will be to contribute with technology and to be the ICT
advisor. We expect to gather case studies on improving living standards,
incorporate a big data element to track urban trends, and improve public
awareness of the post-2015 sustainable development goals[1]. We also hope to
engage other thought leaders in the industry in this work going forward," said
Vestberg.
Dr. Joan Clos, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and UN-Habitat Executive
Director, said: "Over the next thirty years, the urban population of the world
will increase by at least 2.5 billion people. How we plan and manage our towns
and cities will have an economic, social and political impact and will be
directly connected with reduction of poverty and the increase of equity. We need
key partners to bring innovation to solving the world's urban challenges, and
welcome this future partnership with Ericsson as a concrete step in that
direction."
Launch of the Intelligent Transport Initiative
In vast research including some reports from Ericsson ConsumerLab[2], traffic
and transportation are regularly cited by residents as the most challenging
issues in a big, growing city. EU research estimates that about 1% of GDP
annually is lost on traffic congestion. A study from the US calculates that 70
million hours per year are spent finding a parking space. And globally,
inadequate road safety is estimated to cost USD 518 billion, the equivalent of
1-2% of an average nation's annual GDP. Traffic accidents kill nearly 1.3
million people each year and an additional 20-50 million are injured or
disabled.
To create a concerted effort to enable creation of safe, sustainable and
efficient transport systems in the market, Ericsson is launching an Intelligent
Transport Initiative. The intent is to reach stakeholders from road authorities,
research institutes, public transport operators, logistics providers, and
service providers to analyze connected transport from several aspects.
Dr Catherine Mulligan, Research fellow at Imperial College Business School,
explained: "There is growing evidence that digital and energy infrastructures
are needed for intelligent transportation systems, enabled by common
connectivity, device and service enablers."
Vestberg continued: "Mobile communication is expected to reach 9 billion
subscriptions by 2019. This would never happen without unity and collaboration
across the entire ecosystem. We need a similar drive now that we will see
industries such as transport take advantage of mobility, broadband, and cloud.
We've seen wonderful innovations by leading companies but in order for these
ideas to scale across the globe, we need to collaborate."
Some of the major trends in transport are autonomous driving (driverless
vehicles) and the uptake of electric vehicles. During 2014, Ericsson will lead a
study across several disciplines to increase understanding of how an intelligent
transport system can best be provided. This work will look at aspects like
innovation, safety, quality of service, business models and value chains, and
standardization will be analyzed. Ericsson will hold a series of subject-focused
roundtables throughout the year. The expected result aims to propose actions to
stimulate progress, eliminate barriers and generate new business.
Vestberg concluded: "Together with global experts and industry leaders, we aim
to inspire, develop and create actionable ideas that can expand opportunities
for our industry, at the same time making a tangible contribution to society at
large."
NOTES TO EDITORS
Networked Society City Index Report
Post-2015 Development Goals
The Broadband Commission
About World Urban Forum 7
The World Urban Forum was established by UN-Habitat to examine one of the most
pressing problems facing the world today: rapid urbanization and its impact on
communities, cities, economies, policies and climate change. The World Urban
Forum 7 will be held in Medellin, Colombia on 5-11 April 2014.
www.unhabitat.org/wuf
About Habitat III
'Habitat III' is the Third United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable
Urban Development, to take place in 2016. Habitat III will be one of the first
global conferences after the Post 2015 Development Agenda. It is an opportunity
to discuss and chart new pathways in response to the challenges of urbanization
and the opportunities it offers for the implementation of the sustainable
development goals.
www.unhabitat.org/
Download high-resolution photos and broadcast-quality video at
www.ericsson.com/press
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We are enabling the Networked Society with efficient real-time solutions that
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[1] www.un.org/en/ecosoc/about/mdg.shtml
[2] www.ericsson.com/news/131030-smartphones-change-cities_244129226_c
Ericsson announces key collaborations to improve city life : http://hugin.info/1061/R/1744091/586829.pdf
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