Work Underway to Turn Urmia Into Smart City

EghtesadOnline: Urmia Municipality and major Iranian mobile operator MTN-Irancell have signed a contract to launch an optical fiber project, as part of a scheme to turn the northwestern city of Urmia into a smart city.

News ID: ۷۸۳۲۷۲

14 July 2018

Aiming to strengthen the city’s telecommunications infrastructure, “the project will take one step closer to realizing the dream of turning Urmia into a smart city,” the city’s mayor Mohammad Hazratpour was quoted as saying by ICTNA.

According to him, over 400 billion rials ($9.5 million) have been allocated to the construction of a 67-kilometer optical fiber network. The project is to enter the implementation phase soon and is set to finish in a year.

Hazratpour further noted that the provision of smart services is tied to the development of modern telecommunications infrastructure. He pointed out that 123 electronic services have been designed which will soon be available to Urmia residents, according to Financial Tribune.

Irancell has had an extensive presence in the city with the company reporting 98% penetration rate in Urmia. The firm aims to further strengthen its presence in the northwestern city.

Sustainable Revenue

One of the aims of the smart city project is to ensure sustainable income for the municipality to foster future development plans.

A smart city is an urban development vision to integrate multiple information and communication technology and Internet of Things solutions in a secure fashion to manage a city’s assets such as local departments’ information systems, schools and libraries.

Just like Urmia, several major Iranian cities including Tehran and Qom have introduced urban development plans to move toward the establishment of smart cities. One of the major contributors to such plans is the ICT Ministry, along with mobile operators Irancell and Mobile Telecommunication Company of Iran.