"Jersey is already a smart island"

Thursday 12 October 2017

Jersey can hold its own in the world of smart cities according to the CEO of Digital Jersey, who is leading a number of projects linked with connected devices to put the island on the map of the 'Internet of things' (IOT) and hoping to open the first dedicated lab on the island.

Speaking at a Chamber of Commerce lunch, Tony Moretta said Jersey is already a smart island thanks to the quality of its broadband network and the speed and capacity of its mobile coverage.

Mr Moretta said that the local broadband and mobile phone infrastructure would be "the envy of the world," if Jersey advertised it. He added: "Often here we get some pessimism disguised as realism, but there is so much criticism that is not warranted. The perception certainly isn’t the reality here in Jersey." He added that, while it will take the UK up to 20 years to move to full fibre, every single broadband connection will be "gigabit fibre" in Jersey by next year. "The decision to commit to full fibre in the government was visionary but I never hear anybody talk about it and that’s a mistake. Because it is the real foundation for a digital economy and a smart island. It means Jersey can hold its own around the world against any jurisdiction." 

For the Digital Jersey CEO, the fibre and the three separate 4G mobile networks which capacity and speed surpass "pretty much anywhere," are not Jersey's only assets, even though cynics might doubt the island capacity to cope against the competition. "We can pitch Jersey as a fantastic test bed for the development of IOT centers, applications and businesses. Apart from the fixed and mobile connectivity, we also have got at least one, maybe two by now, dedicated internet fixed network covering the whole island, separate to the network we were talking about. We have easy access to all of the owners of infrastructure including telecoms, utilities and government departments, we have got an enthusiastic and supportive tech sector. We have a whole 'complicated' country in just 45 square miles and a closed user group literally surrounded by water. So you can test something here and scale it up to work in much larger countries."

IoT just beginning & Jersey an ideal test bed w excellent connectivity, dedicated IoT networks,access to infrastructure owners @TonyMoretta

— Jersey Chamber (@jerseychamber) October 11, 2017

Digital Jersey is already testing IOT applications on the island having replaced the old, static air quality sensors with connected ones which will give a real time acces to the data. The company is looking to go even further by installing those sensors on Liberty Buses. This will enable to link the air quality data with the bus routes that are currently being recorded by the Bus Tracker application. Tony Moretta said: "We now we can do it! We are currently working on getting the static sensors up and running and making sure they are working well."

If all goes well, the first sensors could be installed by the end of the year. Kevin Hart, the Director of Channel Islands HCT Group, commented: "It is the right thing to do. The air quality is important and we need to understand the hotspots and how transport can help resolve those. It's only when people take notice of the issues that they might realise they need to change their habits. The sensors will be fixed on buses that cover every route, which will help monitoring all the island, and that's the beauty of it!" 

Dedicated IoT lab in plan @TonyMoretta @DigitalJersey #ChamberLunch pic.twitter.com/5y5HsIshKO

— Jersey Chamber (@jerseychamber) October 11, 2017

Digital Jersey is also in talks the government to obtain funding for the first IOT lab and data platform on the island. Based at the JT Exchange in Red Houses, it will give local and off-island companies the space to base projects and businesses around IOT. Mr Moretta explained it will also include a workshop to build a test centre as well as a platform to gather and analyse the data from around Jersey, and that it will be a great addition to the already existing Jersey Hub and Eagle Lab.

To "shout about" what Jersey has to offer and attract individuals and companies, Mr Moretta said that, next year, Jersey will be the first place to offer a whole country as  a sandbox, a testing environment for software development. Sandbox Jersey will be available in IOT, digital health, financial technology, agriculture tourism and retail. "That is how we are going to reap the benefits of IOT for all of Jersey," said Mr Moretta.