Smart Central Coast Program

Challenge

The Smart Central Coast Program (the Program) was established to understand the level of high-speed internet and digital connectivity needed to support the Central Coast’s growth as a prosperous, innovative and sustainable region. The Program was initiated and funded by the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure (DPHI), formerly the Greater Cities Commission, and was delivered by Smart Places, a part of Transport for NSW.

Solution

The Smart Central Coast Program was developed to support the ambitions of DPHI’s Central Coast Strategy. It aimed to evaluate how technology and data solutions could support job attraction and economic activity, enhance growth, support the community, build resilience, and achieve equity outcomes for the region.

The Program was co-developed with local representatives from government, industry and the community between 2023 and 2025, and was overseen by a cross-agency Steering Committee co-chaired by DPHI and Smart Places.

The Program follows the Smart Places Methodology, which has four key phases:

1. Understand the current landscape: Establish a digital infrastructure baseline and analyse the current market landscape.
2. Envision the future: Engage local stakeholders across education, health, industry, community and local government to understand aspirations for a smart Central Coast and how these can be powered by smart technology and data. This phase also involves projecting future demands for digital connectivity based on forecast growth.
3. Develop strategic directions and opportunities: Co-develop a set of strategic directions and opportunity areas, to achieve the aspirations for a smart Central Coast.
4. Implement and adopt: Translate strategic directions and opportunities into pilots and practical initiatives, supported by a forward roadmap.

The first phase, understanding the current landscape, involved a detailed digital baseline study. 
The study analysed over 200 spatial data layers to understand the current connectivity infrastructure and the connectivity demand needed in the future to meet the region’s forecast jobs and population growth.

A layered framework for smart places was applied, considering the connections between people, technologies, data and platforms across four interconnected layers: infrastructure, connectivity, place data, and applications (as shown in the figure on this page). This approach helped to ensure future-proofing plans are integrated and planned from the ground up.

The layered framework was used to assess the current landscape of digital infrastructure and guide conversations with stakeholders about where targeted improvements could have the greatest long-term benefit. It also helped to translate technical considerations, such as connectivity gaps or data-sharing challenges, into planning priorities.

The second phase, envisioning the future, involved stakeholder engagement with over 20 groups representing education, business, government, NGOs, and health sectors. These discussions helped shape a shared narrative for the Central Coast’s digital future, grounded in practical needs and focused on delivering community aspirations.

Stakeholders were invited to consider how digital infrastructure could improve people’s quality of life. They also thought about how it would support regional outcomes, particularly through applications in transport, public safety, environment, health, and economic development. A key part of this conversation involved understanding the technical requirements of different use cases, specifically the varying needs for latency (speed of response) and bandwidth (data capacity).

The graphic above illustrates that some common use cases, such as smart lighting and EV charging, require relatively low bandwidth and are less sensitive to latency. Other use cases, such as e-health and robotics, demand very high bandwidth and extremely low latency. This highlights the importance of planning infrastructure that can accommodate a diverse set of use cases across town centres, growth areas, and regional hubs.

These insights helped to identify where upgrades in connectivity infrastructure would be most beneficial and what types of smart applications could be realistically supported in different areas across the Central Coast.

Armed with these insights, the Program then developed strategic directions and opportunities in collaboration with its diverse stakeholders. This third phase, was used to inform future decision making and to guide the region towards its ambitious vision. The strategic directions and opportunities were further strengthened by a cost-benefit analysis, ensuring that every action taken will be economically viable and sustainable.

The Program is now in its fourth phase of implementing and adopting. This phase brings the strategic directions to life through tangible initiatives designed to foster a smart, connected, inclusive and resilient Central Coast.

Outcomes  

Smart Places outcomes areas:

• collaboration and connection
• skills, jobs and development.

Resources

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