In this Digital Age, part of what makes a great city is its connectedness to the Internet.
The growth of online business, smartphones with mobile applications, social networking, and GIS are instrumental in improving the quality of life in cities worldwide.
In New York City, for instance, GIS tracking was essential to delivering emergency services during Superstorm Sandy. In Tokyo and Seoul mobile banking is integral to everyday life. In Prague, Amsterdam, or Montreal youthful travelers easily keep in touch with home. The Internet, in short, is fundamental to urban life, and the more applications the better.
In this report, we at Future Cities have taken a look at the quality of Internet connectivity across cities worldwide, using the following criteria to let the cream rise to the top:
Average Internet connection speed. Faster is, of course, better. We consulted the most recent "State of the Internet" report from online tracking firm Akamai for information on services in cities worldwide.
Availability of citywide WiFi, preferably free and fast. Ubiquitous mobile communications demand cellular-based WiFi networks -- LTE (a.k.a. 4G LTE), WiMax, municipal broadband, and the like.
Openness to innovation. Cities that accommodate startups are more likely to enjoy the benefits of early access to emerging technologies, along with the economic boosts that come with exciting young companies.
Support of public data. Cities that open local data such as real estate records, 311 inquiries, location information, and various statistics to the public for creative use get our vote. Civic hackathons are a terrific vehicle for serving the public good via great city applications.
Security and data privacy. It won't matter much if a city has great Internet connectivity if citizens' identities are being stolen online. To make this list, cities had to stand up in terms of security.
So without further ado, we present you with our list, in no particular order. Enjoy -- and tell us what you think on the message board!
Blaming the government For those blaming the government for stalling US Internet progress, this report in the WSJ may shed some light on why we have less competition than other nations.
The link between US security and the telecom infrastructure seems to be holding up some activity that could result in a broader cast of carriers and ultimately faster services.
Re: Internet connectivity Ha, @PeterJ, yes, those were the bad old days when we had to wait for the materialization of the most basic pages on the Net.
Surprising to hear what people are doing with all that bandwidth, eh?
Don't forget, though, that businesses are enjoying the benefits of bandwidth. To me, that alone justifies the expense and effort to install better facilities.
And I agree, you have to wonder what's behind the resistance to moving forward. The US and Canada should be in the vanguard here, not taking up the rear.
Re: Internet connectivity I also have to think that the major ISPs have thwarted some of these efforts over time. it is perhaps a cynical view, by the major providers want paying customers, have heavy investment in infrastructure, and strive to protect eat their interests.
Re: Internet connectivity Mary/All, I just had a bad experience today with poor Internet quality/bandwidth and it added to my interest in this thread. I also chuckled that maybe Microsoft is outperforming Google in one arena (Seattle). Anyway, my experience today made me hark back to the days of AOL and the mega-waiting for the simplest of downloads to occur. I also read once before that a significant amount of broadband in the US is used for Netflix watching. I guess I'm wondering what this capacity translates to in terms of productivity, enrichment, competitiveness, etc.
Re: Internet connectivity Dunno, @chartist. Grassroots movements to obtain Internet connectivity are a struggle. I know, I did this in a rural area where I lived and it was quite an experience. It worked for awhile, but I am grateful it didn't have to be a long-haul solution.
Re: Internet connectivity Not great! Actually, while city-sponsored WiFi certainly helps keep a city connected, I personally am not really in favor of it. I've said on the boards here before that I think it's great if private businesses want to provide WiFi (it's a good way to attract patrons, after all). But I don't really think it should be on the cities themselves to do so, though some are trying/have tried. Indeed, as we write in this report, Seattle tried and then gave up but encouraged the private sector to take over as WiFi sponsors. As you rightly point out, there are other services cities need to spend money on. Again, surely a city that can manage to provide "free" WiFi is going to rank high for connectivity, but that doesn't mean I agree with those who think free citywide WiFi is a priority!
How woud you feel if Detroit spent money on "city sponsored wifi", knowing 1/2 their ambulances don't run and emergency reponders - police and fire - take 3 to 4 times longer to respond then national averages - if they respond at all.
Re: Internet connectivity Yes, DIY or even better - work with your community. Group purchasing power can be a game changer! For example check out this initiative focused on utilities. Why not apply this model to broadband provision? http://www.eco-island.org/assets/docs/20111028_ecoisland_charter.pdf
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