Shuffle Sites: Lighting and Connecting the Smart City

This article is brought to you in partnership with Huawei

The MBB Sector Is Set for a New Wave of Explosive Growth

As the number of mobile broadband (MBB) users explodes with an ever-increasing demand for diverse services, data traffic is experiencing sharp growth like never before. Network quality is a key differentiator for data-savvy customers. Towns and cities across the world need a highly performing network and broadband infrastructure to implement their smart initiatives that will bring huge benefits for their citizens.

Telecom operators need to improve the coverage and the capacity of their mobile networks. As site acquisition becomes increasingly difficult, the focus is turning to new ways to roll out services, improve the user experience and develop 5G networks while meeting strict government requirements on integration and appearance.

Shuffle Site – a joint innovation

Partners of cities worldwide, Huawei and Schréder, having been working together for the past year to deliver Shuffle Site – a multi-functional street lighting platform that incorporates Huawei’s built-in small cell to provide wider broadband coverage and boost capacity while meeting government regulations.

Technological cooperation turns street lights into base stations

With street lights widely available throughout towns and cities, they are ideally placed to quickly deliver extensive coverage, support large amounts of data traffic, and improve the user experience.
Huawei’s outdoor integrated small cells as well as their antennas and transmission devices have been perfectly integrated into the Shuffle to meet the requirements of the local municipalities and carriers regarding the appearance of small cells. The small cell has also been designed to accommodate 5G networks in the future.
The Shuffle Site represents much more than a high-value data traffic hub. It can also integrate public address systems, surveillance cameras, WiFi modules and sensors to enable cities to provide multiple services in one aesthetic column, reducing their carbon footprint. It is simply, the ideal platform for cities to implement smart city initiatives.

In addition, by collaborating with telecom operators, cities could give themselves an enormous economic advantage. The first cities to have 5G, which is 100 times faster than 4G, will undoubtedly, attract technology companies who want to develop new products and services.

Success across industries

By adopting the Shuffle Site, telecom operators will save time and money in new site deployment, reducing CAPEX and OPEX by over 40%. The acquisition period will be cut from six months to one. Pilot installations have proven that the download rate for subscribers increased by three times.

The Shuffle Site can be installed in densely populated areas, including pedestrian areas, squares, railway stations, metro stations, residential areas, urban roads, and tourist attractions.

In addition to providing a solution to the recurrent problem of site acquisition this joint innovation contributes to enhancing the city landscape. It provides the perfect infrastructure to ensure a successful collaboration for many stakeholders.