​Statement of the situation or prob​​lem

All areas of society – culture, education, health, transport, trade and tourism – will depend for their development on the advances made through information and communica​tion technology (ICT) systems and services in their activities. ICTs can play a key role in the protection of property and persons​​; smart management of motor vehicle traffic; saving electrical energy; measuring the effects of environmental pollution; improving agricultural yield; increasing efficiency in global travel and tourism; management of healthcare and education; management and control of drinking water supplies; and solving the problems facing cities and rural areas. This is the smart society. Similarly, as highlighted by the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), ICT applications can support sustainable development in public administration, business, education and training, health, the environment, agriculture and science within the framework of national cyberstrategies.
The United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognizes the enormous possibilities offered by ICTs and calls for significant increase in access to such technologies, which have a decisive contribution to make in support of implementation of all the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). ITU therefore deems it a priority to support its membership in achieving the SDGs, in close collaboration with other associates. Delivering the promise of the smart society relies on three technological pillars – connectivity, smart devices/terminals and software –as well as on sustainable development principles.
Connectivity or the underlying infrastructure encompasses both traditional and emerging networks and new technologies. It is a key enabler upon which all smart services could be provided. Examples include machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, the Internet of Things (IoT), and resulting applications and services such as e government, traffic management and road safety.
It is estimated that at present over 50 per cent of IoT activity is focused on manufacturing, transport, smart cities and user applications, but that in the future all industries will be able to benefit from IoT initiatives, highlighting and enabling new business models and workflow processes. Smart devices/terminals are the things and edge components that are connected via the enabling infrastructure and connectivity layer to exchange data between the field and the city operation centre. Cars, traffic lights and cameras, water pumps, electricity grids, home appliances, street lights and health monitors are all examples of things that need to become smart so as to deliver significant advancements towards the achievement of sustainability and economic and social goals. This is especially important in developing countries1.
Then the role of software development becomes essential to exploit and capitalize on the first two pillars (connectivity and terminals), such that all three pillars can function together to support new services that would never have been possible before. Software includes both the city platform which interfaces with all terminals seamlessly as well as the service-specific functions that are tailored to perform each vertical application or service in the city.
It will be possible for the work carried out under this study Question to be founded on Resolutions 139 (Rev. Dubai, 2018), on the use of telecommunications/ICTs to bridge the digital divide and build an inclusive information society, and 197 (Rev. Dubai, 2018), on facilitating IoT to prepare for a globally connected world, of the Plenipotentiary Conference; Resolutions 44 (Rev. Geneva, 2022), on bridging the standardization gap between developing and developed countries, and 98 (Rev. Geneva, 2022), on enhancing the standardization of IoT and smart cities and communities (SC&C) for global development of the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly; and Resolution ITU-R 66-1 (Rev. Sharm el-Sheikh, 2019) of the Radiocommunication Assembly, on studies related to wireless systems and applications for the development of IoT.

Question o​​r issue for study

• a) Consideration of smart cities and communities (SC&C) to enlarge the scope of study and include smart villages and any form of communities.
• b) Raising awareness and sharing experiences on improving connectivity and underlying infrastructure to support the smart society and potential smart services, including smart grids, public administration, transport, business, education and training, health, the environment, agriculture, tourism and science.
• c) Examination of best practices for fostering and enabling deployment and use of smart devices/terminals used for providing smart services in the city/society.
• d) Survey of methods and examples of how software and platforms, both open-source and/or proprietary, enable connectivity of smart devices/terminals and integration of data for supporting smart services, cities and communities.
• e) Studying policies and business models that ensure the involvement of different stakeholders and yield sustainable development of smart cities and communities.
• f) Discuss and share reference data management architectures that would promote and enable development of smart cities and communities.
• g) Defining performance benchmarks and assessment mechanisms for smartness in terms of quality-of-life, technical aspects and policy mechanisms.
• h) Sharing of experiences and best practices in building smart cities and choosing/providing smart services and applications.
• i) Promotion of capacity building and the acquisition of knowledge on ICTs for adoption of the skills required for development of a smart society.
• j) Encouraging city planners and city officials to participate in the study and share their experiences.

  Expected ​output​

  The output expected from this Question will include:
• a) Guidelines on policy approaches to facilitate the development of ICT applications in society, fostering social and economic development and growth.
• b) Case studies on the application of IoT, communications and ICT applications in building SC&C, identifying the trends and best practices implemented by Member States as well as the challenges faced, in order to support sustainable development and foster smart societies in developing countries.
• c) Increasing awareness among relevant participants regarding the adoption of open-source strategies for enabling access to telecommunications, and studying the drivers for increasing the degree of preparedness to use and develop open-source software to support telecommunications in developing countries, as well as creating opportunities for cooperation between ITU members by reviewing successful partnerships.
• d) Analysis of factors affecting the efficient roll-out of connectivity to support ICT applications that enable e government applications in SC&C.
• e) Organization of workshops, courses and seminars for the development of capacities allowing improved uptake of ICT applications and IoT.
• f) Annual progress reports, which should include case studies, and a detailed final report containing measurement analysis, information and best practices, as well as any practical experience acquired in the areas of use of telecommunications and other means of enabling ICT applications and connecting devices for development of the smart society.
• ​g) Development of a city's ability to respond to crises like the global pandemic through smart cities, with special emphasis on a contactless society and continuity of urban systems.