09 April 2018

Ubihub can be used to connect and power any PoE device for IoT applications.

Ubicquia has developed what’s claimed to be the industry’s first streetlight-powered gigabit switch.

According to the US-based IoT specialist, Ubihubis a next-generation gigabit switch that is compatible with the NEMA socket on more than 300 million streetlights globally.

It is designed specifically for smart city network and IoT applications.

The switch has two PoE/PoE+ ports for connecting and powering any PoE device such as cameras and digital signage.

It includes connections for fibre, Ethernet and broadband PLC backhaul, and is also backward compatible with Ubicquia’s UbicellIoT network router, public Wi-Fi and edge processing modules.

Company CEO Ian Aaron says: “Our customers want to leverage their existing streetlight infrastructure to easily connect cameras and third-party sensors, and provide gigabit speed backhaul communications for public Wi-Fi, surveillance and other high bandwidth applications.”

In addition to Ubihub, Ubicquia has also announced its third-party sensor certification programme. It reckons this provides municipalities with the ability to easily deploy backhaul, commercial grade sensors and a comprehensive API set for data access.

Aaron says the programme will make deploying cameras, edge processing applications, sensors for air quality, weather, soil monitoring , a “truly plug and play” process for cities.