KDDI to test 5G with base stations built in Street Lights

Street lamp incorporating the base station function in consideration of the landscape - by the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO)

My earlier posts with street lighting and lampposts were mainly with Philips (see here and here) and one detailed one from EE (via Andy Sutton)

In fact the picture above reminded me of this tweet:

When is a telegraph pole not a telegraph pole? When it's a cell site. #industrialarchaeology #gsm #3G #mobilefuture pic.twitter.com/t1WzZ5crU5

— Andy Sutton (@960sutton) September 8, 2015

Anyway, the new article says (translated by Google translate from Japanese):

In experiments, we used a street lamp that incorporates the base station function inside the pillar so that the antenna and the radio are not noticeable. We set up one in the parking lot adjacent to the municipal wreckage field in Yeomachiro and investigate tourist reactions on the landscape and the reach of the radio waves. The period is one year from October this year. Since the 5G base station has not yet been downsized, experiments predict the radio range using the current 4G base station.

So from what I understand (news sites here and here):

• KDDI will be testing initially using 4G because 5G base stations are still quite big. It looks like a small cell but could be an RRH as well
• This experiment will start in October and last a year
• As it mentions relay, I am assuming in-band backhaul.
• As its on a sightseeing spot, they want to see how people react to this
• They will also examine the impacts of weather, terrain and look at maintenance issues as well.
• The intention is to roll it out commercially by 2020