Sadiq Khan Mayor of London
Navin Shah GLA Brent & Harrow
Labour Party Londonwide
Campaigns
Regeneration Committee
Improving digital connections to make London a Smart City
The capital is poorly served when it comes to digital connectivity, suffering from ‘not-spots’ or ‘digital deserts’ due to a lack of fibre connections and poor 4G coverage.
In its 2017 report, “Digital Connectivity in London” (1}, the Regeneration Committee found that London’s economic productivity and international competitiveness face a significant threat from this deficiency.
- For 4G coverage, London ranks in the bottom 5 UK cities with only 73.6 per cent.
- London ranked 30th out of 63 cities across the UK for high speed broadband coverage.
- In Spain 83 per cent of all its buildings are connected to pure fibre. In the UK the figure is just 3 per cent or even less.
Before the Mayor launches his Smart London Plan in June 2018, the Regeneration Committee will hold a discussion on making London a Smart City, and how to improve Digital Connectivity within the Capital in general.
The following areas will be of particular interest:
- Digital connectivity - connectivity is now a well known issue that needs to be addressed.
- Smart cities - the impact of 'smart urbanism' and implementation of smart city technologies.
- Piloting innovative approaches as the Mayor looks to regenerate Old Oak Common and Park Royal through the OPDC.
The following guests will answer questions:
- Theo Blackwell, Chief Digital Officer, GLA
- Dr Stephen Lorimer, Smart City Policy and Delivery Officer, GLA
- Dr Katherine Willis, Associate Professor, University of Plymouth
The meeting will take place on Tuesday 6 February at 10:00am in Committee Room 5
at City Hall (The Queen’s Walk, London SE1).
Media and members of the public are invited to attend. The meeting can also be viewed via webcast.
Notes for Editors:
Published by NeonHorizon. Promoted by Keith Ferry on behalf of Navin Shah, both at 20 Byron Road, Harrow, HA3 7ST
Navin Shah is the Labour Party's candidate for the London Assembly seat of Brent and Harrow 2016