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Cities beefing up their smart infrastructure have tapped the ubiquitous streetlamp to track traffic data and measure pollution. Now, in Los Angeles, some streetlights will help keep the communications network intact after an emergency.
LA is the first city in the world to install Philips-branded SmartPoles, which are outfitted with 4G LTE wireless technology by Ericsson to help boost broadband coverage throughout the city. Each pole is connected to the network by a fiber link, which helps keep a steady connection. The location of the poles—which are closer to the streets and sidewalks where people are actually using their phones than central cell towers—gives the network the advantage of being more equally dispersed across the region. That gives people more bars in some of the denser areas of the city, for example.
While better day-to-day cell service is a great feature, the real benefit here in LA is that the system won't be as likely to be knocked out by, I dunno, say, a major earthquake.
It would be more useful if they had solar panels and/or battery packs to self-power when the grid goes down...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 08 2015, @05:46PM
Duh...
Depending on the power grid being up is one thing you DON'T assume in an emergency situation.
Fine-grained control of communications is great if you want to silence troublemakers, though.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 08 2015, @06:15PM
More and more I see light/electric polls with attached solar panels.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Sunday November 08 2015, @06:35PM
I'd propose we attach solar panels to our pole booth [soylentnews.org] too, but I'm afraid about what the Polish people will say about electrifying one of theirs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 08 2015, @06:50PM
but I'm afraid about what the Polish people will say about electrifying one of theirs.
Probably nothing worse than they said when the Germans did it.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 08 2015, @07:07PM
Instead, perhaps we could attach sough LARP Anne L's to our Paul boot.
(Score: 3, Informative) by VLM on Sunday November 08 2015, @07:07PM
More and more I see light/electric polls with attached solar panels.
Locally those attached panels all connect to a battery and camera. Not necessarily evil spy NSA cams but the same highway patrol "current traffic" cams you can see on the website. In fact if you pay attention to traffic cams on the website it can be a "game" when out driving to find the cam. The highway patrol seems to use solar, mostly. Some of this might be the occasionally weird mounting location and there's probably a wifi somewhere closer to the ground. I have seen dead cameras in the morning in the winter, solar is totally believable.
Another one I've seen is the pole side for smart water meters.
Probably depends on state tariffs for electrical power of pole mounted equipment. They seem to legally "understand" a cable TV amplifier power supply that draws a kilowatt 24x7 or a streetlamp that draws a simple and obvious amount for half the year, but they don't understand legally how to charge for "some pole mounted equipment of varying type and changing over time that only draws a couple watts". The metering infrastructure is are too expensive to bill a couple watts and there's only about 20 highway patrol cams in the area so its not like 50K mostly identical streetlights. Although with hundred watt LEDs replacing kilowatt bulbs I'm sure billing for streetlights will become a fine PITA soon enough.
(Score: 1) by Francis on Sunday November 08 2015, @09:02PM
I see a lot of that these days. It seems like basically any signal the city has that isn't mandated is hooked up like that with a battery and solar panel. So, flashing lights for school zones, speed limit information signs and the signs that warn you that a pedestrian is waiting to cross are mostly hooked up like that now.
I have yet to see the actual street lights or anything essential hooked up like that though.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 08 2015, @06:40PM
Imagine, in an emergency, they can think of the children/terrorists and track you down to exactly where you are standing to a degree of certainty unparallelled with traditional cell phone tower placement! Even on cloudy days or indoors!
Actually, they will be able to do this 24/7 even without grid power, with no way to turn it off unless you don't wear your leash or let its battery go dead. Then they'll know you are unleashed.
I hope people got what they wanted when they had in mind what they were voting for.
(Score: 2) by TheLink on Sunday November 08 2015, @08:24PM
Already they just need a list of wifi APs your phone/laptop can see and their signal strengths can make it more accurate. WiFi cells are usually quite small.
You don't even have to be connected to any AP.
Test it out yourself: https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/browserlocation/json?browser=soylentnews&sensor=true&wifi=mac:b8-c7-5d-07-6e-cf|ssid:TV2+Network|ss:-58&wifi=mac:00-13-10-8d-a7-32|ssid:LUBIN|ss:-61&wifi=mac:62-4c-fe-9c-08-18|ssid:airportthru|ss:-73&wifi=mac:00-24-93-0c-49-e0|ssid:CustomGiftsMemphis|ss:-87&wifi=mac:98-fc-11-69-35-46|ssid:linksys|ss:-87&wifi=mac:00-0f-cc-6d-ba-ac|ssid:3333|ss:-88&wifi=mac:40-b7-f3-5b-2c-60|ssid:ATT456|ss:-88&wifi=mac:00-c0-02-7d-5f-4e|ssid:iHub_0060350392e0|ss:-89&wifi=mac:00-24-b2-d5-df-9a|ssid:MemphisCPA|ss:-89&wifi=mac:06-02-6f-c3-06-27|ssid:3333|ss:-89&wifi=mac:00-27-0d-55-c3-20|ssid:custard|ss:-90&wifi=mac:a2-a1-15-0d-a8-68|ssid:SETUP|ss:-90&wifi=mac:00-0f-cc-76-5b-2c|ssid:35452340|ss:-92&wifi=mac:c0-3f-0e-6e-ac-34|ssid:patricia|ss:-92 [googleapis.com]
See: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/12285792/programmatically-get-a-list-of-wireless-access-points [stackoverflow.com]
Replace the wifi info with the ones in your location. To get a list, on Windows 7 and above you can run netsh.
For the address if you care, you put the latitude and longitude in:
http://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/geocode/json?latlng=35.0698409,-89.88574699999999&sensor=true [googleapis.com]
With the amount of wifi aps about, streetview cars going around collecting data, and mobile phones with GPS updating the data regularly (when they query they're also telling Google about new APs ), Google and their friends probably know where many people are... Down to which Starbucks or apartment, maybe even which house they're sitting in.
(Score: 2) by Gravis on Sunday November 08 2015, @09:54PM
i tested it myself and i can't believe the great results!
right in my browser it printed:
and nothing else! what an amazing experience! google has done it again!
lesson to be learned: test your links before telling other people to test them, fuckwad!
(Score: 2) by TheLink on Tuesday November 10 2015, @10:17AM
Please read a bit more before posting.
I said:
Replace the wifi info with the ones in your location. To get a list, on Windows 7 and above you can run netsh.
So would you call me a fuckwad again since I didn't tell you what exact command line to put for netsh or would you use your brains better and figure it out?
If all you can do is click on google links without thinking or reading properly, Google and similar may replace you soon. They might even be able to come up with better and more effective insults (since with social media and data mining they might know a lot more about the target to be insulted).
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 08 2015, @11:29PM
Yes... turn off your wifi when traveling, unless the cost of privacy is worth the free wifi services. And turn off bluetooth and um.
I guess owning an android or microsoft or apple phone is probably just a poor idea if privacy is important. i used to be upset when people forwarded me stuff in email by using the button on a website and giving the website my email address. Now my info I didnt hand out to any business is downloaded off the phones of people who added me in to their contact list.
which means not even having one of those phones, but trusting people who do, is probably bad for privacy. meh. well. i hear that more stds are going around due to the social age we are in and tindry things. i guess privates are more important to exercise than privacy.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Sunday November 08 2015, @06:55PM
Just a note: There is a reason you are told never to touch a downed power line. "Dead" lines often carry voltage. I've had power go out at the plant, and all the lights are out, all the equipment is dead cold. Probe a line with my Fluke, and I find voltage.
So - how much power does it take to keep a wifi up and running?
You are still right though - you don't rely on the power from the grid when it has been disrupted. At best, you'll get spotty coverage where ever the lines are least damaged.
(Score: 2) by VLM on Sunday November 08 2015, @07:13PM
"Dead" lines often carry voltage.
The telecom world is the same, our stuff often has power on it, enough to kill.
Its funny (in a pitiful sense) trying to talk to normies about it. So how ya know its a dead line? Uhhh its not sparking. Well that line on the pole right now is carrying 90 volts at enough amps to kill you to power a mid span repeater, and its not sparking, so you're telling me its currently dead because its not sparking? Uhhh but the line is broken and laying on the ground. And you know which direction along the line we installed the power supply because? Uhhhhh ...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 08 2015, @08:29PM
And even if the electric company has cut the power, someone else might be running a generator, screwed up the wiring so it's illegally backfeeding...