Okay, I’ll bite, What’s A Smart Pole?

There may not be many technical and electronic theories one has to learn on a regular basis, but there’s never a shortage of descriptive buzzwords. At first glance one might ask, what is a smart pole? Professional fishermen need not get excited.

Of course, one might reason it has something to do with the myriad ‘smart devices’ out there, you know, smart homes, smart phones, smart cities, smart asses, etc. But hey, who needs to think when we have Google and Wikipedia to tell us what to know, and sometimes believe.

In our research example that follows, we will be referring to efficient street-lighting systems that use what looks like the traditional street lamps mounted on poles. The smart system determines when lights need to be on or off and brighter or dimmer based on environmental conditions. This is a great approach on many levels, particularly at those times of the day when natural lighting can play tricks on drivers’ eyes. A good example is dusk at various times during the year.

At any rate a MarketsandMarkets research report, titled “Smart Pole Market by Offering, Installation Type, Application, and Geography - Global Forecast to 2023”, forecasts the market for smart poles to be worth $16.65 Billion by 2023, growing at a CAGR of 19.99% between 2017 and 2023 – hot stuff, no? They claim growth in this market is mainly driven by the need for energy-efficient pole lighting systems, increasing government initiatives for smart cities, and the ability of smart poles to lessen traffic jams and accidents.

Some notable findings in the report include: highway and roadway applications are expected to hold the largest market share by 2023; the market for software is expected to grow at the highest CAGR between 2017 and 2023; North America will hold the largest market size in 2016; and APAC will witness the highest CAGR during the forecast period.

The top companies in smart pole market are Philips Lighting Holding B.V. (Netherlands), General Electric company (US), Hubbell Incorporated (US), Cree, Inc. (US), Eaton Corporation (Ireland), Acuity Brands (US), Zumtobel Group (Austria), SYSKA LED (India), Neptun Light Inc. (US), Maven Systems Pvt. Ltd. (India), Lumca Inc. (Canada), Sunna Design (France), Mobile Pro Systems (US), Goldspar Australia Pty Ltd. (Australia), and Virtual Extension Ltd. (Israel).