US operator Verizon announced a deal to acquire smart city solutions provider Sensity Systems for an undisclosed fee.

In a statement, Verizon said the move adds weight to its ThingSpace IoT platform, designed “to help communities increase economic development, drive citizen engagement and enable sustainability”.

Sunnyvale, California-located private firm Sensity “capitalises on conversion to LED lighting (a process that will affect 4 billion lights worldwide over the next few years)”, which helps it create a high-speed sensor based multiservice IoT platform, with 42 smart city installations across the world.

By using lighting technology infrastructure, the company said it drives services such as smart parking, location analytics and security for its partners, enabling energy efficiency and cost savings.

Mike Lanman, SVP enterprise products and IoT at Verizon, claimed the operator is now “uniquely positioned”, through its investments at the network, platform and application levels, “to provide holistic solutions that empower communities to address their most pervasive challenges”.

As part of its IoT business, Verizon operates a Smart Communities organisation, which has seen it develop solutions for parking, lighting and traffic management in local communities. Verizon’s ThingSpace platform, meanwhile, is described by the company as a web-based, open environment for creating and deploying IoT solutions and applications.

Last week, Sensity’s chairman and CEO Hugh Martin featured in a keynote at the CTIA Super Mobility event in Las Vegas, alongside John Stratton, EVP and president of operations at Verizon.

The deal, subject to the necessary approvals, is expected to close by the end of this year.