Labyrinth Completes Development of New St. Louis Lighting Infrastructure Standard
Telecommunications Companies to Underwrite Deployment of the 21st Century Infrastructure
Labyrinth Technologies has completed the development of a new Small Cell Wireless Facility, Streetlight, and Utility Pole Specifications, for the City of St. Louis, Missouri, ushering in a new SMART city era for the municipality.
“Labyrinth has been wonderful to work with,” said Robert Gaskill-Clemons, the Chief Technology Officer for the City of St. Louis. “I honestly don’t believe there is a problem that I can throw at them that they would be able to tackle or at least figure out who could.”
“They accomplished a lot in a very short period of time,” Gaskill-Clemons said. “City government doesn’t always move that quickly. From the first time we met to getting specifications approved by the Board of Public Service it was five months. That could take years.”
Gaskill-Clemons credited Labyrinth with being “incredibly adaptive” and flexible, responding “within days” to changes in requirements. Most importantly, the new specifications and approved design reflect the input of city officials from multiple departments, local residents, community SMART city advocates, and each of the major telecommunications providers.
“St. Louis is undergoing a renaissance driven by development and leaders like Robert who see the value technology brings in enhancing the urban experience for residents and visitors,” said Ted Stegeman, CEO of Labyrinth Technologies. “The city has been both fiscally prudent and forward thinking in driving a process that has resulted in a leading design that other cities will want to emulate.”
While FCC regulations and state law mandate that small wireless facilities be accommodated using the city lighting system, the city’s existing aging infrastructure simply doesn’t make that possible.
The city of St. Louis maintains over 60,000 streetlights within a 64 square mile area, but the light system is old, features concrete poles with a limited sized core that can’t be retrofitted and high voltage power that has to be converted in order to power low voltage IoT devices and small cell facilities.
Labyrinth Technologies worked closely with municipal officials in St. Louis and representatives of a half a dozen telecommunication companies to develop a design that accommodates the latest advances in smart city technology while also achieving a higher-level design aesthetic demanded by residents and officials alike.
“Cities have realized the revenue potential they have with their infrastructure and are proactively working to capitalize on this for the benefit of taxpayers”, Ted Stegeman said. “Beauty drove the design aesthetic for the Labyrinth system”.
The well-thought out design meets both current needs, as well providing sufficient flexibility to meet future needs. What is most important for taxpayers is that the new poles will be paid for by the telecommunications companies.
