Open Networking Summit Europe 2018

The very high speeds of 5G networks require the use of very high radio frequences, which means that the radio signals do not go very far. This requires new thinking for the radio access network. Since the networks will be first built in city centers and they have artificial lighting, one idea is to put the 5G radios on light poles. The LuxTurrim5G project is implementing that. The name means "Light pole 5G" in Latin.

To make building the 5G network economical, the LuxTurrim5G light poles will not only provide lighting and network connectivity, but also be a platform for other services. In the Espoo, Finland test network, the light poles have video cameras and weather sensors, and it supports Multi-Access Edge Computing (MEC). The platform uses containers for the applications.

The LuxTurrim5G project helped the City of Espoo win the "Most Innovative City" award in 2018.