St.Gallen – The city of St.Gallen has the conditions in place to become a so-called smart city. The city utility tested a new type of wireless network that, in combination with a glass fibre network, enables the Internet of Things. A decision will now be made on a full version.
Over a six-month test phase, the utility Sankt Galler Stadtwerke (SGSW) extended the existing glass fibre network using a low-radiation radio technology known as Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN). According to a statement, this resulted in a so-called Smartnet, which enables wireless connection of a variety of objects. It can, for example, connect the control of electricity, water and heating infrastructure to each other. This type of networking – the Internet of Things – leads to increased efficiency and is an example of a smart city.
To meet the needs related to reading smart meters or controlling public lighting, it would be necessary to comprehensively cover St.Gallen with the Smartnet, and SGSW has made a proposal to the city council in this respect. If St.Gallen moves forward with this, it would become the first Swiss city to realise a network that would support the Internet of Things. SGSW said it could make the necessary extensions in just a matter of months.
