Collaboration to create ‘smarter’ Arizona with 5G & IoT 

A multi-pronged, multi-year collaboration between Arizona State University (ASU) and Sprint is leveraging the communications giant’s advanced 5G and IoT systems to drive social, technological and economic growth across the southwestern US state.

In addition to offering 5G connectivity and IoT applications to the fastest-growing research university in the US, Sprint and ASU will combine their resources to lay the groundwork for the creation of tomorrow’s IoT experts, as well as engage in joint research and development.

“IoT is driving the Fourth Industrial Revolution right before our eyes,” said Sprint IoT and Product Development Senior Vice-President Ivo Rook in a media release on the collaboration, which was announced during the Mobile World Congress 2019 in Los Angeles this week.

IoT, he added, is “changing how we interact with everyday items and increasing the possibilities of technology and data”. Through its partnership with ASU, Rook said the firm aims to help build a new smart state model for the communities of Greater Phoenix.

“We are proud to work with Arizona State University to help create an entire smart region ready to pave the way for the future,” he said.

At least 100 times faster than its predecessor with 25 times lower latency, blazing-fast 5G connectivity helps unlock the true potential of IoT and enables the Fourth Industrial Revolution, a period where automated processes will replace human error with ultimate speed and unbridled potential for scale.

The Sprint-ASU partnership is a building block of the Greater Phoenix Smart Region Consortium, in which the communications firm is a founding partner and ASU a key member.

A collaborative applied research and implementation partnership between public sector, academia, industry and civic institutions, the consortium works on projects to drive the creation, advancement and adoption of smart city technology across 22 cities in Arizona.

It actively supports and implements initiatives that leverage advanced connectivity and infrastructure to improve quality of life and accelerate business growth for the communities of Greater Phoenix.

For example, part of Sprint’s collaboration with ASU involves working with the state to bring high-speed connectivity to underserved areas of Arizona.

Sprint’s 5G mobile network and Curiosity IoT, the world’s first dedicated, fully virtualised and distributed IoT core network and OS, enables ASU’s 75,000 students to benefit from immersive reality experiences and enhanced technology projects around connectivity and safety across five campuses.

ASU and Sprint also plan to establish a Curiosity University that will entail creating an advanced curriculum to attract, retain and nurture the future generation of IoT experts. This initiative will groom students to garner the skills and expertise needed by global emerging industries and prepare them for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. 

Besides that, ASU will provide its Novus Innovation Corridor as the venue for the establishment of a 5G Incubator. 

“Our collaboration with Sprint exemplifies the broad benefits of a university-corporate relationship,” ASU Knowledge Enterprise Executive Vice-President Sethuraman Panchanathan said in comments on the partnership.

“The entire university community and those throughout the greater Phoenix metropolitan area will benefit directly from this collaboration by having access to Sprint’s network and through the educational and research aspects that will usher in new innovations in technology.”