Signify and Edzcom deliver wireless connectivity through existing streetlight infrastructure

The BrightSites solution delivers fast, reliable connectivity to every street corner using the city’s own network of streetlights. It removesthe need to dig and lay fibre connections throughout the city, while needing only a fraction of the time and cost of traditional methods. This allows the City of Tampere to accelerate the deployment of present and future broadband loT applications such as 5G, WiFi and smart city services.

“Tampere's ambition is to create the most sustainable society using the power of digitalisation and technology,” said Teppo Rantanen, Executive Director at the City of Tampere. “It’s a society that lives on real-time, data-driven actionable insights. We have partnered with two industry leading companies, Signify and Edzcom, to create the foundation of such a society. With their technology and services, Tampere aims to takealeap forward in creating the society we strive for.”

Through BrightSites, lighting infrastructure becomes aplatform for real-time sensors, cameras, and other digital technologies. In the future, this could include technologies that provide situational awareness data for autonomous vehicles and data streams for drones, both of which will require city-wide high speed data connectivity.

Khalid Aziz, Head of BrightSites by Signify said: "Where there is light, there are people and where there are people, they need connectivity. Our newest BrightSites solution will help our customers to transform their traditional lighting assets into a digital platform. This opens up the opportunity for new business models and monetization for our customers. We truly believe that this is agame changer in deploying the communication networks of the future."

Mikko Uusitalo, Managing Director of Edzcom added: “In the wake of rapid urbanization and industrialisation, cities around the world are facing exponential demand for resources such as public transport, housing, water supply and sanitation. These issues cannot be ignored, and smart city projects aim to tackle them by focusing on how technology can be implemented to improve the lives of citizens and make cities more sustainable in a socially inclusive way. With that being said, Edzcom & Signify are partnering with the City of Tampere for a Smart City Deployment: a city-wide network capable of managing smart city applications.”