Tokyo Metropolitan Government to trial 5G Antenna-equipped Smart Poles in Cooperation with Sumitomo Corporation and NEC

TOKYO, May 25, 2020 – (JCN Newswire) – Sumitomo Corporation has concluded an agreement with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government on the preliminary/trial installation and verification of smart poles being carried out by the government. Together with NEC Corporation, Sumitomo Corporation intends to install two types of smart poles in the Nishi-shinjuku area of Tokyo by the end of June 2020.

In its “TOKYO Data Highway Basic Strategy” formulated in August 2019, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government calls for constructing an ultra-high-speed mobile Internet network in Tokyo. As part of that effort, the government is looking to install smart poles at an early date in the Nishi-shinjuku area, a priority improvement zone. Smart poles are multi-functional poles equipped with communication base stations, Wi-Fi, street lighting, signage, etc., and they are expected to serve as infrastructure useful for the provision of new community services.

In partnering with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Sumitomo Corporation and NEC will be installing two types of smart poles in the Nishi-shinjuku area by the end of June 2020 to verify their utility under both ordinary and emergency circumstances. More specifically, the two companies plan to install two models of NEC’s “Smart Street Lighting”(1) equipped with functions such as digital signage(2) and pedestrian traffic flow analysis cameras(3); one model will be outfitted with a 5G shared antenna system for joint use by multiple telecommunications carriers, while the other, a site-sharing model, will be equipped with 5G base stations for multiple telecommunications carriers. With the aim of bringing 5G shared antenna systems into full-scale use by March 2021, efforts will be made to extend these systems across the entire metropolis and to help develop services for Tokyo residents/visitors through the construction of efficient infrastructure by accumulating knowledge on the installation and operation of smart poles.

Sumitomo Corporation is engaged in a variety of information and telecommunications endeavors, being involved with the cable television business in Japan and investing in telecommunications and telecommunication tower businesses overseas. In the 5G sector, it has taken part in 5G base station sharing verification projects alongside Tokyu Corporation, Osaka Metro Co., Ltd., and Tokyo’s Minato Ward. In addition to advancing the “TOKYO Data Highway Basic Strategy” through this latest agreement, Sumitomo Corporation will in the future be collaborating with companies, local governments and others to create 5G-related businesses.

NEC has positioned the public safety business as an engine for its global growth, and this verification project will accelerate and enhance the development of solutions and services to realize “NEC Safer Cities”(4), while helping to create safer and more secure streets.

(1) NEC’s “Smart Street Lighting”
URL: https://www.nec.com/en/global/solutions/streetlight/index.html
(2) Digital signage
A system using LEDs, liquid crystal displays and other electronic media to disseminate information
(3) Pedestrian traffic flow analysis cameras
These cameras are part of a mechanism designed to estimate the gender, age, direction of movement, and number of pedestrians from camera footage. With privacy considerations in mind, the estimated data is only saved as statistical information; no information that can be used to identify individual pedestrians is saved.
(4) NEC Safer Cities
URL: https://www.nec.com/en/global/solutions/safercities/index.html

About NEC Corporation

NEC Corporation is a leader in the integration of IT and network technologies that benefit businesses and people around the world. The NEC Group globally provides “Solutions for Society” that promote the safety, security, efficiency, and equality of society. Under the company’s corporate message of “Orchestrating a brighter world,” NEC aims to help solve a wide range of challenging issues and to create new social value for the changing world of tomorrow. For more information, visit NEC at https://www.nec.com.

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