Sumitomo announced its agreement with Tokyo Metropolitan Government on the trial installation and verification of smart poles being carried out by the government.
Sumitomo and NEC aim to install two types of smart poles in the Nishi-shinjuku area of Tokyo by the end of June 2020 to verify their utility under both ordinary and emergency circumstances.

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.

The aim is to bring 5G shared antenna systems into full-scale use by March 2021. NEC and Sumitomo will extend these systems across the entire metropolis and to develop services for Tokyo residents/visitors through the construction of efficient infrastructure by accumulating knowledge on the installation and operation of smart poles.