NYC: Inside the Internet of Bins

Phone booths are not the only street furniture in NYC equipped with wireless radios these days.

Dan Jones, Mobile Editor

October 8, 2014

1 Min Read
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Forget the phone booth beacon scandal for a moment, because you might be surprised just how many inanimate objects are getting fitted up with radios in NYC these days.

For instance, Light Reading has spotted Big Belly solar compactors in New York's Times Square:

Figure 1:

We've seen these sophisticated garbage receptacles before: Verizon Wireless was showing them off at its Innovation Center in Waltham, Mass. (See Pics: Verizon Innovation Generator.)

Keep up with the latest M2M developments on our dedicated IoT channel here on Light Reading.

As you can see below, the trash compactors are equipped with a solar panel on the top and an LTE radio at the front. The radio lets the trash compactors can alert cleanup crews when they get full.

Figure 2:

Like the Bluetooth beacons, these M2M radios are just another one of the expected millions of new devices that will get connected as part of the Internet of Things. As far as we know at least, however, this bin brother isn't watching you... yet. (See Does M2M Need LTE?)

— Dan Jones, Mobile Editor, Light Reading

About the Author

Dan Jones

Mobile Editor

Dan is to hats what Will.I.Am is to ridiculous eyewear. Fedora, trilby, tam-o-shanter -- all have graced the Jones pate during his career as the go-to purveyor of mobile essentials.

But hey, Dan is so much more than 4G maps and state-of-the-art headgear. Before joining the Light Reading team in 2002 he was an award-winning cult hit on Broadway (with four 'Toni' awards, two 'Emma' gongs and a 'Brian' to his name) with his one-man show, "Dan Sings the Show Tunes."

His perfectly crafted blogs, falling under the "Jonestown" banner, have been compared to the works of Chekhov. But only by Dan.

He lives in Brooklyn with cats.

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