The internet of things (IoT) entails all devices that can get onto the internet. This is mainly because of the technological advancement. This exponential growth of IoT increases on the dense nodes with a huge data volume on the network that affect the collision and network congestion probabilities. This chapter presents a comprehensive description of the central and supporting innovations that are used to make cities smarter, focusing on the fifth generation (5G) IoT paradigm from a software-based network viewpoint. Furthermore, the main initiatives of international significance are discussed. Also, the chapter presents software-defined networking (SDN), IoT, and network function virtualization (NFV) challenges as it relates to the user privacy and security, IoT security, energy consumption, integration of IoT with subsystems, and architecture design. A segment of the top five future trends that are made and will make cities smarter is conclusively included.