Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1386104
July/August/September 2021 I 37 SMART CITY OVERVIEW AND CONSIDERATIONS The digital divide was recognized as a problem since 1995, and despite hundreds of millions of government dollars invested under the umbrella of rural broadband, "there are currently nearly 30 million people in the U.S. who cannot reap the benefits of the digital age." 2 Due to the past year's pandemic, states, cities, towns, and communities have begun planning again, searching for solutions on how to solve the divide. Those various solutions involve infrastructure in every case. From an ICT perspective, a viable solution lies in smart city connectivity in conjunction with decentral- ized data via edge data centers (EDCs). By understanding the digital divide and the multifaceted considerations and technologies of smart cities and EDCs, ICT designers, installers, contractors, and consultants can become more innovative in solving the divide for their smart city or municipal projects. In fact, according to SmartCities- World.net, smart cities are predicted to create $2.46 trillion worth of business opportunities by 2025. However, the digital divide is not only a U.S. prob- lem but also worldwide, and it is standing in the way of the ultimate goal of a connected world. In total, 47 percent of the world's population, approximately 3.6 billion people, do not use the internet, and lack of coverage is one reason as shown in Figure 1. 3 0% North America Covered and connected 73% 26% 1% 70% 28% 3% 52% 44% 4% 50% 42% 8% 38% 47% 15% 28% 57% 16% 21% 38% 40% South Asia Sub-Saharan Africa Latin America Europe MENA Central & East Asia & Pacific 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Covered but not connected Neither covered nor connected FIGURE 1: Source: Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA), STL Partners. Of the people that do have broadband connec- tions, in many instances, bandwidth is shared capacity. Carrier oversubscription models have proven to be poor with the recent onslaught of remote workers, learners, and communicators. Quite simply, the infra- structure is tapped out. While 5G is hyped as the solution, quite frankly, it will be some time before that technology is accessible everywhere. Many devices need upgrading before they can take advantage of 5G services. The most populous cities will receive them first. According to the United Nations, 68 percent of the world's population will live in urban areas by 2050. 4 This migration is mainly due to services available in cities that do not exist in rural areas. However, city availability does not assure access everywhere within a municipality. The demand for bandwidth and data has in many places exceeded the capability to provide it. In some cases, it simply is not provided at all. Estimates from a 2017 FCC report state that the cost to close the digital divide would be upwards of $80 billion U.S., explaining in part the $2.46 trillion dollars in smart city business opportunities.