Vantage Towers, a company spun off from Vodafone last year and has since become one of Europe's leading tower companies, and Signify, the world leader in lighting, have agreed to cooperate in all markets - a total of eight countries - in Europe where Vantage Towers is active, according to a press release sent to the Budapest Business Journal.
By combining Vantage Towers` infrastructure services with Signify´s BrightSites portfolio of smart poles, digital hubs and Interact IoT connected lighting system and software, the two companies want to create a joint business proposition for converting outdoor lighting to a wireless communication and citizen service platform.
Signify has been leading the lighting industry's transformation to LED and digital applications. One of its latest innovations is aimed at transforming outdoor lighting to facilitate a wide range of smart city applications such as surveillance, traffic management, weather and pollution monitoring, and charging of electronic vehicles. The same platform enables data densification applications such as small cells, fixed wireless access (FWA), Wi-Fi hotspots, massive IoT, and campus networks.
Together, Signify and Vantage Towers intend to deploy commercial projects based on the creation of a fiber-like wireless network that can be replicated at a large scale. This enables building neutral host networks to cater for the rising demand for connectivity in dense urban and rural environments. A three-month pilot project is expected to start soon in Spain and is expected to continue in all countries where Vantage Towers is present, including Hungary.
Gergő J. Budai, chairman and CEO of Vantage Towers Hungary, notes, “Smart city solutions are essential for the sustainable cities of the future. As a strategic partner of Signify, we are pleased to be involved in projects that complement our infrastructure assets and expand their use. Our newly announced cooperation will effectively support the wide-ranging, cross-sectoral application of digital solutions, taking an important step towards the realization of the smart city concept and indirectly contributing to Hungary's position at the forefront of digitalization in Europe."
Khalid Aziz, head of connectivity solutions at Signify, adds, “We are delighted to collaborate with Vantage Towers to jointly accelerate the digital transformation in Europe. Our innovative lighting solution, combined with Vantage Towers expertise as neutral host, will prove to be a game-changer for the European market. It offers a great opportunity to utilize existing infrastructure to sustainably serve the ever-growing demand of bridging the digital divide, increasing safety and security, and enabling a truly connected society.”