Fredericton to deploy intelligent city solutions

eleven-x Inc., operator of a coast-to-coast public low power network optimized for the Internet of Things [IoT] in Canada, and the City of Fredericton have announced an innovative initiative that will enable the New Brunswick city to investigate a wide range of targeted Smart City applications tailored to monitor its infrastructure, assets and services in an easy-to-use and cost-effective manner.

Smart city and internet of things, various communication devices.

Building on the city’s foundation of being smart and sustainable, the collaboration with eleven-x will help solidify Fredericton’s commitment to innovation as it moves towards meeting its ultimate vision of becoming a leader in intelligent communities. eleven-x will be deploying their low power public network to provide secure and reliable wireless coverage for connecting low-cost battery powered devices throughout the city’s infrastructure. In addition to the network design and operations, eleven-x will be providing total turnkey IoT solutions to the city for a variety of applications, including device deployment and management, as well as data visualization and analytics.

The Living Lab approach supports the already thriving technology ecosystem within Fredericton. The eleven-x IoT network provides efficient deployment of focused pilots without the need to commit long-term resources or budget before understanding potential ROI. The approach also provides a foundation for innovation by opening up city infrastructure with open data supporting the Digital Fredericton program. Some of the applications that the city will be pursuing include:

• Smart Water Metering – utilizing eleven-x’s MIU-X interface to wirelessly connect installed meters that aren’t currently connected to collect real-time usage data
• Intelligent Parking – acquiring data from accessible parking assets to build a parking profile that will enable evidence driven decisions on existing and future requirements
• Flood Detection – gathering real-time data on water levels and to help plan for a flood resilient future
• Air Quality Monitoring – monitoring of temperature, humidity and various pollutants for outdoor environments

“We are very excited with this collaboration as it will really help us focus on areas of need within the city, while also setting us up for the longer term in meeting our sustainable city objectives with programs that deliver ROI,” said Adam Bell, CIO at the City of Fredericton. “Additionally, our city has a particular challenge that we have undertaken – that we connect with our core, our citizens and all of our communities to provide better services for everyone – and this collaboration with eleven-x will help provide a foundation to meet that challenge.”

“We are very happy to be collaborating with the City of Fredericton with a full-service solution approach to support their community and economic development objectives,” said Dan Mathers, President and CEO of eleven-x Inc. “By offering complete turn-key wireless solutions, we are able to help cities start with pilots targeted at key areas of priority and get them up and going quickly. Cities can almost immediately realize the benefits real-time data can have in terms of helping to improve decision-making and offer better services without increasing their budgets.”

Supporting the use of low-cost battery powered sensors, the eleven-x network addresses Intelligent City and IoT applications where requirements include wireless connectivity, devices that require long battery life, no maintenance and a low total cost of ownership.