Kohima Smart City wins accolades at Global Smart Cities Forum 2020

Kohima, November 23 (MExN): Kohima Smart City Development Ltd (KSCDL) has been declared winner at the ETGovernment Global Smart Cities Forum 2020 under the category ‘Best Digital Initiative of the Year (Technology)’ for the ‘Kohima City Wifi Phase I Project,’ officials said on Monday.

According to KSCDL CEO Kovi Meyase, the ETGovernment.com Global Smart Cities Forum 2020 was instituted to recognise the outstanding work done by government and private entities to transform smart cities into citizen-friendly futuristic cities. The focus will be on celebrating innovative ideas, smart governance, sustainable solutions, and cutting-edge execution that enrich the overall lives and experience of citizens, he said in a press release.

The Kohima City Wifi Phase I Project, Meyase said, was kicked off in August 2019 and launched in November 2019 with the main objective to provide internet access for the masses in public locations at a cheaper cost and instant access to data for emergency services with real-time updates with better coverage for emergency services.

It also aimed to accelerate the delivery of e-Governance services and initiate e-Commerce opportunities to the locals, he said.

Recognising the need to increase citizen access to technology and information which in turn will pave the way for more opportunities and capabilities to compete locally and globally, Meyase said that IT infrastructure will enable IoT and establish a platform for the smart city with innovative smart solutions such as pan-city fire emergency solutions, smart offices, entertainment, smart street lighting, smart Kiosks, smart traffic management, etc with the aim to turn Kohima into a more tourist-friendly place.

KSDCL activated Wi-Fi Hotspots in 51 locations of Kohima along with two smart Kiosks as part of the Wi-Fi Project.

According to the release, in a hilly terrain like Kohima where 3G/4G data is inconsistent, the Wi-Fi hotspots provided alternative internet connectivity to citizens and tourists.

The unique innovation in this project involves a customized smart kiosk installed in two locations of Kohima, which feature a locally branded user interface (UI) where visitors can get information on the restaurants, hotels, and places to visit around Kohima. On clicking the page, each venue has a QR Code which upon scanning using a smartphone, the Google Map location of that particular place automatically appears on the user's smartphone, it stated.

It said that the key highlights of the project were the massive data usage at Naga Hospital by COVID patients and frontline workers along with the high usage in areas such as the Smart Kiosk, Opposite to Oking Hospital and Raj Bhavan Area by joggers.

It is quite encouraging to see that for a city with a projected population of about 1 lakh, 3,602 users have registered till date and data usage is currently running in double-digit Terabytes, it added.