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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: 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.