Philips, Ericsson Combine Street Lighting With Mobile Connectivity

By Levien de Feijter

AMSTERDAM--Royal Philips N.V. (PHIA.AE) and Ericsson (ERIC) will team up to develop street lighting that combines LED lighting with mobile broadband connectivity in a move designed to capitalize on rapidly growing city populations and an increasing demand for mobile data traffic and energy-efficient lighting.

The new lighting model creates a "a win-win-win situation for cities, operators and the public," Philips' Chief Executive Frans van Houten said, adding that the energy-efficient LED lighting will help bring down energy costs. Public lighting is responsible for up to half of a city's electricity bill, according to Philips.

To accelerate the payback time up of costs for installing and managing the systems, cities can rent the street lights to mobile operators working with Ericsson. Philips also offers cities the option to pay the Amsterdam-based company out of the energy savings.

Mobile network operators will be able to improve data coverage for citizens, said Ericsson President and Chief Executive Hans Vestberg.

The product, which was trialed last year, will be presented at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, which starts later Monday.

Write to Levien de Feijter at [e-mail]

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