The £4m pilot study will receive £1.3m in central government funding alongside extra money from local authorities including Cambridgeshire, Tees Valley, Kingston upon Thames, Westminster, Oxfordshire and North Ayrshire.

In addition to connectivity and EV charging, the lampposts can be equipped with technology to monitor air quality and display public information.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) said that by trialling different uses across the participating areas, the pilot will be able to demonstrate how the technology could become an integral part of UK infrastructure in the future.

The system could be particularly useful for expanding 5G networks, as far more cell towers are needed to provide full coverage than previous generation networks. The central government funding has been provided through the Smart Infrastructure Pilots Programme (SIPP), which is part of DSIT’s efforts to boost 5G adoption across the country.

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