Cisco has announced a new USD 1 billion programme to help cities get smarter. The new City Infrastructure Financing Acceleration Program, announced during the Smart City Expo World Congress, aims to make it easier, faster, and more affordable for cities around the world to fund and adopt smart systems and services. The funding will be provided through Cisco Capital together with private equity firm Digital Alpha Advisors and pension fund investors APG Asset Management (APG) and Whitehelm Capital. Different financial constructions will help cities upgrade networks and develop services. Revenue-share financing, for example, would allow a city to tie financing to desired outcomes and extend future operating budgets through revenue streams from the new services.
Cisco also unveiled new functionalities for its newly renamed connected digital platform, Cisco Kinetic for Cities, which integrated with the Cisco Kinetic IoT data platform. The new features provide enhanced support for public safety, ranging from full-policy automation options to an improved dashboard with integrated video. There will be real-time notification of emergency information drawing on additional IoT data sources and Cisco Spark Collaboration, enabling faster emergency response. Cisco also announced new purchasing options for Cisco Kinetic for Cities, including prepackaged starter solutions, which combine the Cisco IoT data platform, system, and services with those from ecosystem partners into ready-to-roll-out, end-to-end solution suites. Cisco has added a number of new Cisco Kinetic for Cities customers, including Cary, North Carolina, which has created a "Living Lab" for smart city services.
