Royal Philips and Ericsson have jointly launched an innovative new connected LED street lighting model. The partnership solves two major issues that cities are facing today: providing residents with improved network performance in dense urban areas as well as high quality, public lighting that is energy efficient.
Philips and Ericsson combine the benefits of connectivity and LED lighting in a unique new model of ‘’lighting-as-a-service’’ for cities. This innovative street lighting model allows city authorities to offer space within their connected Zero Site street lighting poles to network service providers for mobile broadband infrastructure.
Philips will now be able to offer cities LED street lighting that includes the Zero Site street lighting poles. These can be rented to mobile operators working with Ericsson for mobile broadband infrastructure. In this way, mobile network operators will be able to improve data coverage and capacity for citizens, resulting in an enhanced mobile broadband user experience. The model also accelerates the payback time for city infrastructure, by making the up-front costs of installing and managing these systems more affordable, thus reducing the strain on city budgets.
With cities growing by 7,500 people each hour, and mobile data traffic expected to grow ten times by 2019, there is an increased need for mobile broadband coverage in cities. Equally, demand for essential public services and infrastructure continues to grow, increasing the strain on resources like energy. Lighting is responsible for 19% of all electricity consumption globally, with public lighting responsible for up to 50 percent of a city’s electricity bill.
A global trial of LED technology in 12 of the world’s largest cities by The Climate Group in partnership with Philips found that LEDs can generate energy savings of 50 to 70 percent—with savings reaching 80 percent when LED lighting is coupled with smart controls. The study also showed that citizens prefer the white light of LED lighting, citing a greater sense of safety and improved visibility compared to the orange glow of traditional high pressure sodium systems.
Ericsson President and CEO Hans Vestberg says: “This is a tremendous solution using ICT and partnerships to address the megatrend of urbanization. City populations are increasing at the rate of 7,500 people per hour, but our world is not geographically expanding. Meanwhile, our ConsumerLab research shows that internet connectivity is one of the top five factors for satisfaction in city life. This zero site solution is the kind of innovation that offers a way for people to succeed in the Networked Society.”
Frans van Houten, President and CEO of Philips, says: “This new connected street lighting model demonstrates the capabilities of light beyond illumination. We are offering lighting as a service, scaling with a city’s needs, and enabling city officials to offer their residents a more connected, energy efficient and safer urban environment, while preserving existing budgets and resources to improve the livability of their city.”
To keep coverage and capacity at satisfactory levels, mobile operators need to improve, densify and add many more radio cell sites in dense areas. The Zero Site street light pole designed to house Ericsson’s cutting edge suite of small cell products, offers network operators new possibilities to find the right site location. It also helps scale Mobile Broadband infrastructure deployment beyond traditional sites – a key enabler for evolving heterogeneous networks.