Digital City
NSW Premier Mike Baird aims to change Newcastle’s moniker from Steel City to Digital City. In announcing the $17.8 million Hunter Innovation Project, he said the digital precinct with free public Wi-Fi, high-speed broadband and a dedicated “innovation hub” would turn Newcastle into a city known for “cutting-edge research and innovation”.
The government’s $9.8 million commitment to the project has been allocated from the remaining $40 million in the Hunter Infrastructure and Investment Fund. There are nine other projects still under consideration for funding from the remaining $40 million, including a dedicated cruise ship terminal.
An additional $8 million in funds will come from the project’s backers including Newcastle City Council and the University of Newcastle.
The University of Newcastle’s involvement in the innovation project will build on its increased presence in the city and the government’s recent announcement that it would allow the Hunter Development Corporation to negotiate directly with the University on securing additional campus space in the city centre.
According to the government, Newcastle City Council and the University of Newcastle there are three pillars to the project.
An “innovation hub”: a dedicated facility in the Newcastle CBD which will aim to bring together researchers, students, developers, entrepreneurs, investors, technical specialists and business advisors. The university says its aim will be to “facilitate the launch of spinoffs, start-ups and mature companies; attract investment and businesses to the Hunter Region; encourage innovation and commercialisation; and produce the next generation of entrepreneurs, business leaders and inventors.
A “digital precinct”: a designated zone with fibre-based broadband to about 2 properties. The “precinct” is aimed at giving the city a “key competitive advantage in attracting and retaining high-tech, digital and creative industries to stay or locate in the region”.
And “smart cities infrastructure”: a network involving an array of Wi-Fi-linked sensors and integrated technology located initially throughout the Newcastle CBD. The council says the network will provide “detailed real time data on the performance of city infrastructure, facilitating an open-ended range of services and applications to improve the ease of access, efficiency and liveability of the city for residents, businesses and tourists”. Through this infrastructure a new source of ‘open, big data’ will become available to start-ups, entrepreneurs, and the public to develop and test information technology products through the Innovation Hub and the wider innovation ecosystem.