LAS VEGAS — AT&T’s heavy focus on smart city Internet of Things technology comes with some weighty political overtones, including how taxpayers and voters will react.

The topic of voter consent with Internet of Things rollouts arose Tuesday during a panel discussion during the AT&T Developer Summit. It featured the mayor of Atlanta, an FCC commissioner and the CEOs of Intel and Ericsson. The event is held annually prior to the opening of CES and attracts hundreds of developers.

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said companies like AT&T, Ericsson and Intel have to introduce smart technology to mayors and city councils in ways that can help elected officials get re-elected. He suggested that smart city tech vendors open their meetings with city officials by saying, “What I will tell you isn’t going to get you beat” in the next election.

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