Ben Bawtree -Jobson, CEO at SiFi Networks was invited to speak as part of the panel at The Future is Now conference, organized and hosted by the State of North Orange County.

The focal point of the conference which was held at Cal State Fullerton, was Digital Communities and Smart Cities Changing the Way We Work.

Alongside Ben, other panel members included Ken Domer, City Manager of Fullerton, Jim Vanderpool City Manager of Buena Park and Amir Dabirian Vice President for Information Technology CSU Fullerton.

“An interesting discussion was had with both the public and private sectors being well represented on the panel examining how public private partnerships can enable the infrastructure to deliver Smart City initiatives to improve the way we work, live and play in our neighborhoods” Commented Ben Bawtree-Jobson, CEO SiFi Networks.

“Smart City applications are already being used worldwide and are readily available, what is not readily available here in the USA is the infrastructure to enable those applications. You need fiber networks to be able to fully utilize and benefit from Smart City applications” Added Bawtree-Jobson.

A key question from Moderator Dr Cherry Li-Bugg was, how can cities better prepare for growing urban populations? What was clear from the panel is that Smart City applications are pivotal in equipping cities with what they need to provide for their citizens. From water and waste management, e-health, e-education to emergency service, Smart City applications can help to improve the quality of lives of residents, whilst creating more sustainable and safer cities.

According to Dr Cherry, cities which have adopted Smart City applications have seen a 30-40% reduction in crime due to real time crime mapping and predictive policing.

SiFi Networks funds, builds and operates city wide fiber optic networks enabling not only fiber to the home to each and every resident and business, but also Smart City applications to be implemented throughout the city.

Both Fullerton and Placentia are set to become SiFi Networks’ FiberCities™ with construction commencing in Fullerton in the coming weeks.

Fullerton will be one of the USA’s largest open access privately funded city wide fiber network.