Sprint committed on Thursday to building and managing a free, intelligent Wi-Fi network along a 2.2-mile streetcar line under construction in Kansas City, Mo.
The project will be part of one of the largest smart city projects in North America, according to earlier statements by city officials and Cisco, which is providing the Wi-Fi hardware for the project as well as software components for the smart city.
Sprint claimed it is the first mobile service provider in the U.S. to play such a large role in a smart and connected city project.
The free, intelligent Wi-Fi will connect city services to help ease traffic and parking problems, control street lights and water and waste management systems, and offer maps and information on kiosks along new the streetcar line, Sprint said. Sprint compared the project to similar efforts in the European cities of Barcelona, Copenhagen and Hamburg.
