Bangkok has been classified as having moderate development potential for an innovation-driven smart city among top global cities, according to a study released by Nokia.
The Finnish telecom equipment maker analysed 22 cities that are paving the way in smart city investment.
The "Smart City Playbook" study was commissioned by Nokia and conducted by Machina Research.
"Bangkok is still at the beta stage in the drive towards a smarter city," said Harald Preiss, head of North Asia for Nokia.
Bangkok's development pace is on par with that of China's Wuxi, but lags behind advanced cities like San Francisco and New York.
Mr Preiss said Bangkok is classified as a megacity that can leverage technology, particularly the Internet of Things (IoT), to manage city services in a more efficient and smarter way as well as ensure public safety while enhancing sustainability.
Bangkok has rolled out public WiFi, environmental monitoring systems using sensors detecting air and water pollution, close-circuit television and mobile surveillance monitoring systems to improve security as well as intelligent transportation systems.
Mr Preiss said Bangkok can leverage more advanced technologies through the use of data analytics, augmented reality, the IoT and intelligent systems to further enhance efficiency.
"Bangkok has high potential to exercise full-scale implementation plans for public safety and traffic management -- the key priorities for cooperation in the digital economy," he said.
He said Bangkok is a more advanced city compared with other big cities in Thailand like Phuket since the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration is pushing hard to ensure the capital keeps up with other Asian cities.
The availability of nationwide fourth-generation wireless broadband networks could support new generation services and the setting up of mobile smart city services and projects. In addition, the high growth of the country's mobile data usage will prompt telecom operators to expand their networks further to serve surging demand.
Local mobile data traffic is expected to grow by up to 200% this year, and keep growing at this pace over the next few years, he said.
Nokia is willing to share its experience and knowledge to help cities evaluate the economic impact of smart cities, Mr Preiss added.
It is estimated that there will be 41 megacities by 2030, up from 20 currently. Up to 70% of the global population will live in cities by 2050.
Nokia has already completed the acquisition of Withings, a French maker of wearable devices and digital health products, for US$191 million.
The move is part of Nokia's strategy to move into consumer healthcare wearables and digital healthcare.
"We can provide complete and fully integrated solutions to the healthcare sector. Thailand is well positioned to be the medical hub of Asean," Mr Preiss said.