CIVIQ Smartscapes

CIVIQ Smartscapes emerged in September 2015, launched by its parent company, Comark Corporation, to specifically address the growing smart city marketplace. Comark, with a four-decade history in developing ruggedized computing and display systems for demanding environments, leveraged its extensive hardware expertise to establish CIVIQ. The company operates as a portfolio company of the private equity firm JMC Capital Partners.

The firm designs, manufactures, and deploys interactive, street-level digital structures that serve as citizen engagement points in urban areas. These structures form a connected network aimed at enhancing public information, safety, and overall urban efficiency. CIVIQ's primary clients are municipalities and city planners, with projects implemented in global cities, universities, and large venues. The business model is notably flexible; it can act as a direct equipment and software supplier, a managed services provider, or a prime contractor that fully funds, owns, and operates the network. A key component of this model is its ability to cover up to 100 percent of project costs through revenue generated from advertising and sponsorships on its digital displays, minimizing or eliminating the financial burden on taxpayers.

A landmark achievement for CIVIQ Smartscapes was its role in the LinkNYC project in New York City. As part of the CityBridge consortium, alongside partners like Intersection and Qualcomm, CIVIQ was responsible for the design, engineering, and manufacturing of the thousands of 'Link' kiosks that replaced outdated payphones. These kiosks provide a suite of public services at no cost to the user, including gigabit-speed public Wi-Fi, free domestic phone calls, device charging, and a touch-screen tablet for accessing city services and emergency communication. This project was designed to generate over $500 million in revenue for New York City over its first 12 years, funded entirely by advertising. To bolster its turnkey solutions, CIVIQ made strategic acquisitions, including elevate DIGITAL in February 2016 for its street-level software platform and Vertigo Digital Displays in May 2016 for its expertise in ruggedized digital display solutions.

Keywords: smart city infrastructure, urban technology, digital kiosks, public Wi-Fi solutions, citizen engagement platform, digital out-of-home advertising, LinkNYC, street furniture, municipal technology, IoT solutions, public information displays, urban connectivity, interactive terminals, community networks, public safety technology, wayfinding solutions, Comark Corporation, JMC Capital Partners, digital signage, transportation information systems