There’s a lot of information out there about smart city technology, so let’s cut through the noise: It’s about to see some serious expansion.

By 2023, the global smart city tech market is expected to be worth about $27.5 billion a year, up from the $8.8 billion it was worth in 2014, according to a recent study done by Navigant Research. That’s more than triple the size in just eight years.

Why? Because people want to live better. We saw a similar adoption of smartphones as they made our lives more pleasant, and we’re ready to let technology improve our communities by reducing waste and emissions and saving us time and money. People’s living spaces in urban areas may very well become the next pioneered frontier, and Fybr is on the leading edge of it.

From the Navigant study: “Interest in smart cities continues to grow, driven by a range of social, economic, and technological developments that are having an impact on cities around the world. Cities are committing to programs for sustainability, innovation in public services, and economic development that depend on technology investments.”

And it’s not just Navigant forecasting incredible expansion in the space – recent Gartner research finds that smart cities will use 1.1 billion “connected things” this year, as city mayors look to balance sustainability concerns.

Gartner sees the market expanding rapidly – to a staggering 9.7 billion connected things in 2020.

“Smart cities represent a great revenue opportunity for technology and services providers, but providers need to start to plan, engage and position their offerings now,” Gartner says.