NTT partners with Las Vegas on extensive private network

NTT, a global IT infrastructure and services company, has announced a Private 5G (P5G) network expansion for the City of Las Vegas (CoLV). The project involves deploying and provisioning NTT’s P5G to build the most extensive private network in the United States.

Las Vegas first began partnering with NTT in 2018, leveraging NTT Smart Solutions to improve safety, situational awareness, traffic congestion and wrong-way driving in the city using sensors, IoT, big data and predictive analytics. In 2020, NTT and CoLV announced the expansion of the Accelerate Smart Project to include Smart Park use cases at several locations, which helped improve public safety and provide a better experience for citizens and visitors.

The goal is for the new network to serve as an open platform available to local businesses, government and educational institutions for deploying innovative solutions that enrich the lives of citizens and visitors to Las Vegas. Unlike most Citizens Broadband Radio Spectrum (CBRS) deployments, which are in-building or industrial, this network extends across public spaces, with NTT working with partners to more than double the number of network access points (APs) throughout Las Vegas. It’s also said to be the first network of its size to be open to third-party APs and end-user devices.

“The City of Las Vegas network will drive innovation and be a model for cities and businesses worldwide,” said Shahid Ahmed, Group EVP of New Ventures and Innovation at NTT. “Once implemented, it will be the largest open, municipal network CBRS deployment in the US.

“With the support of NTT’s bespoke services, local organisations can use their own devices and develop their applications on the network. City-wide, residents and visitors will receive improved connectivity, safety and security, and access to health care and other critical services.”

Through its open and intelligent network, NTT can customise network services to fit varying requirements for existing and new applications, whether involving full stack, edge or smart solutions. Some initial use cases include improved remote learning connectivity for schools, intelligent monitoring systems to assist law enforcement and better connectivity for services such as telehealth.

The capabilities of the P5G network are expected to include ultralow latency, greater reliability, increased capacity, seamless security and flexible management. As additional use cases arise, the network will become a framework for revenue generation that can improve the city’s bottom line while supporting network maintenance, expansion and enhancement. This network model, and the new services and applications launched in CoLV, can be replicated and marketed respectively in cities across the US.

“Our goal is always to make the City of Las Vegas the best possible community for residents and visitors by enhancing education, workforce development and safety,” said Michael Sherwood, Chief Innovation Officer for City of Las Vegas. “To do this, we needed to expand our wireless capabilities and city-wide connectivity and that is why the City of Las Vegas chose to work with NTT. With their broad range of capabilities, NTT is helping enable the City of Las Vegas to become an important technology hub and strong economic base.”

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