Cisco Systems, networking solutions provider, announced that Busan Metropolitan City in Korea launched its Mobile Application Development Center to host services for its citizens.
The innovative center will operate like an app store for developers. The Busan Mobile Application Development Center (BMAC) marks the first phase of the city's deployment of Smart+Connected Community services.
The BMAC is built in association with Cisco (News 
- Alert) and Korea Telecom, a mobile operator in Korea.
“Busan is an advanced city and among the first to adopt the u-City concept in Korea. Because of its ICT infrastructure, Busan has decided to move faster toward becoming a green u-City,” said Hur Nam Sik, mayor of Busan, in a statement.
The Smart+Connected Community services plan is part of Busan's green u-City blueprint in line with the agenda to support environmentally sustainable economic growth in the country. Cisco Korea and Cisco's Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG) contributed to this blueprint.
The blueprint includes the rollout of S+CC services such as urban mobility, distance learning, energy management, and safety and security by 2014. The country aims at transforming the way of life for Busan citizens, improve city management, and generate new economic growth in a sustainable environment.
“Busan's Metropolitan City plan for a green u-City model based on a pervasive IP-enabled services environment is consistent with Cisco's vision to achieve sustainable development goals,” said Yvon Le Roux, vice president, Smart+Connected Communities, Public Sector, Cisco.
The Mobile Application Development Center will be based on a platform-as-a-service (PaaS) approach, in collaboration with KT (News - Alert) and Cisco, for application developers to test and host city services.
Phase 2 of the project will see the rollout of software-as-a-service (SaaS (News - Alert)) cloud services, delivered by KT and powered by Cisco. These cloud services will include billing automation, content management and document management by 2012.
In Phase 3, being planned for 2014, Korea will see these services widely available to all citizens.
Recently, Cisco Systems (News - Alert) announced that it unveiled a threesome of new solutions aimed at helping wireless service providers monetize and optimize their networks, particularly related video.
Rajani Baburajan is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of Rajani's articles, please visit her columnist page.
Edited by
Janice McDuffee
