1. Cost model for a 5G smart light pole network
Oliver Landertshamer, Jaume Benseny, and Heikki Hämmäinen
COMNET department, Aalto University
Pekka Wainio
Nokia Bell Labs
CTTE conference 2019, Ghent

2. 5G smart light pole – LuxTurrim5G
Drone docking station
Weather sensor
Luminaires
Camouflage Radome Unit
5G radios
Connector boxes for external devices
7 m
LuxTurrim5G is a Finnish research project developing the following smart light pole.
The project is rapidly prototyping versions of the smart light pole, which includes small cell base stations, weather sensors, drone charging station, etc.
It is a big project with more than ten partners, each of which related with some of the equipment in the pole: Nokia, providers of video cameras, weather sensors, drone-based service company.
In the previous session I talked about city strategies, but in this session I will be presenting the cost model for the total deployment cost for the network of 5G light poles.
Panorama camera
Air quality sensor
Pole-side display
Electrical car/cycle charger
Pole, utility box
Version 2 in
the Nokia campus _

3. The 5G smart light pole network enables new services
New smart city services will be enabled by low-latency, high-capacity city networks.
Challenge 1: High deployment costs. Many more sites are required to provide 300 Mbps & 1 ms lag.
Challenge 2: New sites might not be easily available due to city aesthetic requirements / regulation.
It facilitates a massive deployment of 5G small cell and sensor networks.
New smart city services will be enabled by data-based applications.
Challenge 3: Low data quality. Data fragmentation and lack of harmonization.
Challenge 4: Lack of incentives for data sharing. Lack of trust between data holders?
It can trigger investments for urban data aggregation and trading.
A 5G smart light pole network facilitates future smart city services because
1 - It facilitates a massive deployment of 5G small cells and sensors, reducing high deployment cost and aesthetic city requirements.
2 – it collects such a large amount of data that forces local organizations to develop their data strategy, triggering investments.

4. Cost modelling method
RQ: What are the key factors in the total cost of deployment for a 5G smart light pole network?
Cost structure is derived from existing models for mobile access networks.
We interviewed Finnish city workers from IT and planning departments, city consultants, network equipment vendors, mobile operators, and SMEs.
Cost data is obtained from partner quotations, field trial invoices, and expert interviews.
We conduct a simple sensitivity analysis to identify the effect of key cost items to the total cost of deployment.

5. Cost model structure 1) Pole Configuration Module
It defines four pole configurations with a different set of hardware components.
It calculates costs for the pole configurations.
2) Infrastructure Module
It defines a grid-based deployment structure that mixes pole configurations to satisfy coverage requirements from different pole components.
It calculates costs for the civil works including operational and capital expenses.
3) Cost Evolution Module
It estimates future cost values for pole configurations and infrastructure, considering prototype improvement; volume sale discounts; and price erosion.

6. Pole configuration module
The Light-Only provides smart lighting using LED technology.
The Light + 5G additionally provides connectivity via 28 GHz small cell base stations.
The Light + 5G + Sensors additionally provides sensor coverage including video surveillance, weather and air quality monitoring, sound sensing and audio reproduction, and RTK positioning.
The Full configuration provides complete smart city functionality by additionally supporting high quality video surveillance, EV charging, and information displays.

7. Infrastructure module
We consider grid-based greenfield deployment with fiber backhaul.
Total number of poles
- Satisfying smart light requirements.
Number of poles per configuration
- Satisfying sensor coverage requirements depending on the zone.
Average infrastructure cost per pole
- Digging trenches.
- Installing protective tubes, power cables, fiber cables, and a telematics center.
- Building the concrete base and reconstructing the street surface.

8. Cost evolution module
We consider potential reductions on current costs due to:
Prototype improvement (p) in pole components, as shown in first table
- Engineering optimization.
- Utilization of cheaper sub-components.
- Reduction in labor due to mass production.
Volume sale discounts (v) in pole components and civil works
- Price discounts for large purchasing orders and deployments may be conceded by providers.
Price erosion (e) in pole components and civil works
- Component manufacturing improvements.
- Emergence of competing providers / substitute components.

9. Total deployment cost (TDC)
Generic TDC
Today’s TDC
Future TDC

10. Smart city deployments
Minimum deployment for basic services
Uniform and seamless coverage for smart lighting and 5G small cell access.
In addition, RTK positioning and low-resolution video surveillance when in close proximity of strategic poles.
Today TDC = 4.84 M€/km2 , Future TDC = 3.23 M€/km2
Massive deployment for advanced services
Heterogeneous coverage of advanced smart city services according to zone types.
In addition, high-resolution surveillance, EV charging, video signage via information displays, and drone docking and charging services.
Today TDC = 6.57 M€/km2 , Future TDC = 4.05 M€/km2

11. Effect of cost evolution
Cost reduction of 34.1% and 38.4% for minimum and massive deployments, respectively. The pole cost has a larger cost reduction potential than the infrastructure cost. The benefits from prototype improvement only apply to pole cost. Civil work expenses are highly linked to the size of the deployment.
TDC reduction for the minimum deployment
TDC reduction for the massive deployment

12. Relative contribution of individual cost items
In the minimum deployment (left), the top seven contributors belong to civil works or to shared parts of the pole. In the massive deployment (right), the small cell base station accounts for 22%, potentially decreasing to 15%. The accurate positioning (i.e. RTK) accounts for a 5%, potentially decreasing to 3%.

13. Sensitivity analysis
Ten thousand iterations considering probability distributions for deployment and cost evolution parameters.
Deployment Today TDC Future TDC (Min, Avg, Max)
Minimum M€/km2 (2.8, 3.23, 4.3) M€/km2
Massive M€/km (3.0, 4.05, 5.4) M€/km2

14. Conclusions
We propose a model for the total deployment cost (TDC) of a 5G smart light pole network, including:
four pole configurations
a grid-based deployment structure
it accounts for prototype improvement, volume sale discounts, and price erosion.
We estimated TDC for two deployment scenarios, considering the effect of cost evolution.
We identify cost reduction options:
The pole costs have a larger cost reduction potential than infrastructure costs, due to the benefits of prototype improvement.
Cost items with the higher potential are the small cell base station and the RTK positioning.
Recommendations:
Cities should promptly start civil works, enabling a fiber-based backhaul for present and future poles.
Cities should select upgrade-able pole designs accepting new components as soon as become affordable.
Future work may include brownfield deployment with wireless-based mesh backhaul.

15. Thanks