Back-of-envelope assessment: > ... 360 million existing streetlights ... > The installation can typically be completed within just 15 minutes ...
90m person-hours @ AUD50phr first-world / AUD10phr other = AUD2.7bn. The stock of poles is replaced pretty slowly, and top-of-pole repair-and-maintenance is also reasonably infrequent, and you need to hit a local-critical-mass of installations for it to deliver services. So it may be applied selectively, e.g. where there's a public-surveillance motivator/imperative ... Pardon my Sunday-morning glass-half-empty mode!! ____________ On 5/6/22 12:24 am, Stephen Loosley wrote: > Streetlights Offer Path to Rapid mmWave 5G > > By Nitin Dahad 05.04.2022 > https://www.eetimes.com/streetlights-offer-path-to-rapid-mmwave-5g/ > > > On my daily walks, I often look up at the streetlights and think about the > potential they hold for deploying many different technology solutions, > whether for environmental monitoring, surveillance, or for enhancing network > infrastructure. > > So it was no surprise to see this week’s announcement from Movandi and > Ubicquia of their partnership to develop and deploy mmWave streetlight > repeaters to enhance 5G and fixed wireless access coverage. > > Under the terms of their agreement, Ubicquia will use Movandi’s technology to > create an mmWave smart repeater that plugs into a streetlight’s photocell > socket in minutes — the system is said to be compatible with 360 million > existing streetlights worldwide, to accelerate broad 5G mmWave coverage and > FWA deployment. > > These would install in just minutes and lock onto host RAN signals > automatically to ensure repeater–to–repeater connectivity without the need > for fiber connectivity to the core network. The mmWave smart repeater also > integrates with all major RAN/Open RAN technologies, including Ericsson, > Huawei, Nokia, and Samsung, and supports all global mmWave spectrum bands. > > The streetlight repeaters, expected to enter test and deployment in 2023, > meet utility power, protection, metering, weight, and wind loading > requirements, and can ensure optimal outdoor coverage and user experiences by > extending the range of 5G mmWave gNBs and redirecting signals around > obstacles. > > They feature Movandi’s mmWave 5G RF technology and reference design platforms > including RF semiconductors, custom phase array antenna modules, algorithms, > and software including cloud APIs for management, control, and AI/ML data > analytics. > > Ubicquia’s mantra on its website is to “turn streetlights and utility poles > into smart assets that deliver data driven insights.” > > The company has a track record in doing this already, having earlier this > year worked with Ericsson to deploy the latter’s street radio small cell by > plugging into existing streetlights, utilizing a National Electrical > Manufacturers Association standardized connector. > > The device is virtually unseen from street level, sitting just above the > streetlight shield next to the light itself and allowing it to blend into the > existing infrastructure. The installation can typically be completed within > just 15 minutes, transforming a streetlight into a low– or mid–band 5G site. > > In an interview with EE Times to announce the latest partnership with > Movandi, Ubicquia CEO Ian Aaron said, “We are a unique company, with one foot > in the utilities sector and one foot in mobile (many of our engineering team > are from Motorola).” This, he said, made the company and its partnership with > Movandi an ideal alliance to make mmWave 5G a reality sooner. > > By using existing streetlights and their persistent power, 50 meter spacing, > and 8–10 meter heights, this makes millions of site–ready locations available > at a fraction of the time and money than building new poles for 5G radio base > stations (gNBs) and pulling fiber to them. > > Joe Madden, principal analyst at Mobile Experts, highlighted in a recent > white paper, “Streetlight Mounted mmWave Radios Transform Coverage > Economics,” that streetlight mounted repeaters present an “incredible > opportunity to dramatically speed up deployment schedules, streamline many > regulatory and installation approval steps, and save money.” > > “In our assessment of a small city requiring 950 new 5G mmWave radio base > stations (gNBs) for full coverage, we found that using 100 streetlight > mounted gNBs and 850 repeaters reduces 10–year TCO [total cost of ownership] > by over $13 million or 35% and by $89 million or 80% compared to a gNB only > utility pole configuration,” Madden said. > > Ubicquia CEO Aaron said, “The only way mobile operators can deliver on the > promise of mmWave 5G in any reasonable period is to leverage existing > streetlight infrastructure. Our goal in collaborating with Movandi and > integrating our IP and work developing streetlight solutions for public WiFi, > public safety and carrier small cells, is to help mobile operators not just > deliver 5G mmWave services to dense urban areas but make 5G mmWave services a > reality for cities of all sizes.” > > Maryam Rofougaran, CEO and co–founder of Movandi, told EE Times, “We had been > approached by multiple companies to help enable this sort of outdoor mmWave > coverage improvement. We came to the conclusion that this team is strong, > understands the challenges and know how to deploy an easy to install > solution.” > > She added, “Our collaboration with Ubicquia leverages Movandi RF > semiconductor and software technologies to deliver an innovative > streetlight–based 5G mmWave repeater that transforms operator economics, > accelerates broad global 5G mmWave coverage, and unlocks an expanded > portfolio of high speed and low latency services and user experiences.” > > Rofougaran explained the two companies are working closely together to make > the box and create a market. “This will really change the game, whether its > for fixed wireless access or for hotspot coverage. Once this is ready, it > will be a huge volume opportunity.” > > Aaron added, “There is a pent–up demand for fixed wireless access. I see this > really scaling throughout the next year.” > > Analyst Madden concluded, “Our conclusion: streetlight deployment is > absolutely the way to go. The cost savings are significant, but more > importantly, the radios can be on the air extremely quickly. Maybe the > biggest benefit is avoiding those boring city council meetings!” > > The latter remark refers to the bureaucracy and time of city councils that > can take weeks and multiple meetings to get approvals for the alternative > solutions. The proposed streetlight repeater doesn’t require these planning > approvals. > > As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, streetlights have huge > potential to deliver more to cities, and Movandi and Ubicquia’s partnership > to enhance mmWave 5G coverage is just one example. > > I am sure we’ll see integration of more capabilities in these boxes that plug > into streetlights; not just sensors, but a lot more connectivity, vision, and > intelligence. Don’t underestimate the humble streetlight. > > > > Nitin Dahad is a correspondent for EE Times, EE Times Europe and also > Editor-in-Chief of embedded.com. With 35 years in the electronics industry, > he's had many different roles: from engineer to journalist, and from > entrepreneur to startup mentor and government advisor. He was part of the > startup team that launched 32-bit microprocessor company ARC International in > the US in the late 1990s and took it public, and co-founder of The Chilli, > which influenced much of the tech startup scene in the early 2000s. He's also > worked with many of the big names - including National Semiconductor, GEC > Plessey Semiconductors, Dialog Semiconductor and Marconi Instruments. > -- > _______________________________________________ > Link mailing list > [email protected] > https://mailman.anu.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/link > -- Roger Clarke mailto:[email protected] T: +61 2 6288 6916 http://www.xamax.com.au http://www.rogerclarke.com Xamax Consultancy Pty Ltd 78 Sidaway St, Chapman ACT 2611 AUSTRALIA Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Law University of N.S.W. Visiting Professor in Computer Science Australian National University _______________________________________________ Link mailing list [email protected] https://mailman.anu.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/link
