Powered tags (relying on batteries) must minimize energy consumption, a requirement that is prompting further research and development of energy-scavenging, low-energy protocols and algorithms39. One example is Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), which is supported by new smart phones. BLE tags advertise their presence by sending out a message every second, and they can operate for up to one year using a lithium coin cell battery. They currently cost less than USD 5, a price that is likely to drop even further40. Another example is EnOcean, an ultra-low-power wireless standard that supports energy-harvesting wireless technology for smart buildings. Such sensors can be powered entirely using motion, light or temperature differences41.76 Trends in Telecommunication Reform 2016 Table 3.1: Overview of some key applications to-date Areas of applications Drivers Examples Possible development Smart cities • Continued urban growth, which presents quality-of-life & safety issues. By 2023, there are likely to be 30 cities with populations of over 20 million. Over half of these will be in India, China, Russia and Latin America16.• Large public and private-sector investments, such as Saudi Arabia’s USD 70 billion “economic cities” project17; South Africa’s USD 7.4 billion smart city in Modderfontein18; Masdar in Abu Dhabi; Accra in Ghana; Yachay in Ecuador; plans for over 100 smart cities in India; and a USD 8 billon smart city technology investment fund in China19.• Monitoring and maintaining critical infrastructure such as roads, bridges, tunnels, railways, ports, communications, water and power20. Doha, São Paulo, and Beijing have used water pipe and pump monitoring sensors to reduce leaks by 40-50 per cent21.• Networked traffic signals dynamically manage traffic movement across a city in response to measured and predicted changes in congestion and accidents.• Congestion charging systems reduce vehicle commuting time by 10-20 per cent22.• Continued deployment of sensors and metering systems will enable greater city coverage and new applications, as will greater availability of communications capacity & distributed, intelligent network analytics. These will include platforms for small/medium-sized businesses and software developer interaction23. Smart meters and grids • Environmental sustainability – to increase energy efficiency and reduce power consumption, especially at times of peak demand.• To enable consumers to understand and reduce energy usage and switch to suppliers offering tariffs closer to their needs.• To integrate variable renewable and home energy sources into the larger power grid. • Fraud and theft can be remotely detected and meters disabled.• An estimated 1.1 billion smart meters will be installed by 202224: 80 million in Japan, hundreds of millions in EU, and 150 million in India25.• Smart water meters can enable leak detection. Installations in the United States, Malta, India and Canada found an average reduction of water usage of 5-10 per cent26.• Could save 33 per cent of the total cost of constructing a grid using traditional methods27.• Will reduce downtime and waste through better load balancing and voltage regulation, as well as faster detection and diagnosis of faults.