City Telecoms Association announces industry partnership to drive urban connectivity

Thirty-six cities will work with the telco sector to build new models of cooperation to realise the potential of 5G and next generation connectivity, in an agreement announced during Mobile World Congress.

The partnership involves the telecommunications industry alliance, Telecom Infra Project (TIP), through its Neutral Host & Infra Sharing Project Group (NHIS PG), and the City Telecoms Association (CTA) with the aim of fostering public-private collaboration on connectivity.

Some cities have taken steps to run their own telecoms operations, while others have established dedicated units internally to provide a ‘one-stop shop’ for operators and infra providers.

To help cities and industry navigate this, the new partnership will develop common principles around telecoms deployments in cities to provide better outcomes in the areas of digital inclusion, community impacts and shared infrastructure to support faster network rollout.

Speaking on the side lines of Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Jamie Cudden, Smart City Lead, Dublin City Council and EMEA Chair of CTA, (photo above) said that through the agreement cities will be able to develop and share best practice policies, and create toolkits that can be scaled globally to help future proof cities.

“Whether it’s Las Vegas, Dublin, Barcelona, London, Cape Town, Prague or the Hague, cities around the world face similar challenges when it comes to digital connectivity,” he said. “In particular the rollout of next generation digital connectivity networks requires our cities to play a more pivotal role from providing access to assets, to reducing red tape for approvals and permits.”

Kristian Toivo, Executive Director of TIP –a global community of companies and organisations that is driving infrastructure solutions to increase connectivity– said: “Collaboration is at the heart of TIP’s mission, and we are excited to work even more closely with CTA and member cities to advance connectivity solutions. The power of shared infrastructure will drive innovation with enormous benefits to cities and citizens alike.”

Petr Suška, Board Director at Operátor ICT, the telecoms unit for the City of Prague, who is a member of the CTA’s steering committee, said that greater collaboration through the association will ultimately benefit citizens and communities.

“For industry there is the challenge around the economics of network densification and cities understand the need to support this,” he said.

Key initiatives the CTA will now focus on creating better data insights for cities through a pilot between Ookla and Dublin, improving aesthetics for small cells, partnering with EUROCITIES’ 200-plus membership to share best practices, and launching the CTA’s connectivity principles at the inaugural meeting in Prague, May 2024.

The CTA secretariat is hosted by the Cities Today Institute, the events and research arm of Cities Today.