Ericsson partners Sterlite for smart city initiatives in India

Telecom gear maker Ericsson has inked a pact with Sterlite Technologies to work together in driving smart sustainable city initiatives in the country.
Under the agreement, Ericsson will collaborate with Sterlite to design a roadmap and deploy solutions and services required to create a fully functioning knowledge-based society, Ericsson said in statement.
The alliance will design, deploy, integrate and manage solutions in areas like communications, public safety, smart grid solutions and intelligent transport, it added.
The government plans to develop 100 smart cities by 2022. In the Budget, Finance Ministry had allocated Rs 7,060 crore for developing these smart cities.

Governments across the world are keen on setting up smart cities, where technology can help people access, in real time, infrastructure services like traffic, parking, lighting, and water.
These technology solutions will also help city operators to improve infrastructure operations by sharing information in real time across agencies and systems.

"Sterlite is working closely with the Government to drive smart sustainable city initiatives and supports Digital India programme. We are collaborating with Ericsson to implement the programme," Sterlite Technologies CEO Anand Agarwal said.
Solutions covered in the agreement include communications (Wi-Fi networks and fibre deployment), public safety (video situational awareness solutions and emergency response), intelligent transport (traffic management and fleet management) and smart grid solutions (smart grid communications and smart metering).

"Ericsson is playing a crucial role in creation of the networked society and is also a driving force in changes that are currently taking place in the business landscape of many industries.
"Our partnership with Sterlite coupled with our competencies, experience of smart sustainable city deployments and technological expertise will help attain the goals of Digital India," Ericsson India Head Chris Houghton said.