The Concept of 'Smart Cities': Prospects for the Telecommunications Business and the Current Trend in the Development of Modern Society

摘要

The authors research the direction of the active development of information and communication techniques (ICT) in the world, which exceeds the growth of traditional sectors in the economy. It is reasonable for Russia, in relation to all the federal districts, to note the growing number of companies with telecommunications infrastructure, increased costs on the use of modern telecommunications techniques and creating "smart cities". Nowadays this practice is widely acknowledged and successful in federal megacities, for example, Moscow is one of the TOP-5 megacities in the world with high digital readiness of urban infrastructure. It is necessary for other cities in Russia to involve the telecommunications business in this area, which actualizes the study of the conceptual basis of the "smart cities" idea as the prospect for the telecommunications sector and the current trend in the development of modern society based on modern telecommunications techniques. It is necessary for identifying prospects of telecommunications business in the development of "smart cities" and understanding this trend in modern society on the basis of modern telecommunication techniques: 1) to evaluate current promising trends in the telecommunications business; 2) to understand the "smart city" conception and its relevance in Russian conditions. Promising trends determining the telecommunications sector development include the transformation of the operating model under the influence of digitalization, the massive introduction of business intelligence techniques based on the Big Data analysis using artificial intelligence methods, the construction of business ecosystems with business partners, as well as the entry of telecommunications business into related market niches, connected with technological solutions, financial services and IT. This involves adjusting the organizational environment of the telecommunications business and requesting competencies for staff and society members. The ecosystem approach is fully manifested in the "smart cities" conception forming a promising market for telecommunications business, and it allows to focus the economy of urban agglomerations on positive evolution and contributes to the life standard of the population in the regions of Russia.