Smart Pole Market Size & Share Analysis - Growth Trends & Forecasts (2025 - 2030)

The Smart Pole Market Report is Segmented by Offering (Hardware Units, Software Platforms, and Services), Installation Type (New Installation and Retrofit), Connectivity Technology (Wired, Wireless, and Cellular), Application (Highways and Roadways, Public Places and Plazas, Railways and Harbors, and Parking Lots and Campuses), Material (Steel/Aluminum, Composite and CFRP, and Concrete), and Geography.

Smart Pole Market Size and Share

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Smart Pole Market Analysis by Mordor Intelligence

The Smart Pole Market size is estimated at USD 24.06 billion in 2025, and is expected to reach USD 60.15 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 20.42% during the forecast period (2025-2030).

This sustained rise reflects how 5G densification requirements, LED-retrofit mandates, and nationwide smart-city programmes have turned connected street furniture into essential digital infrastructure. Cities now view smart poles as revenue-positive assets. San Diego’s 500 smart streetlights aided 229 criminal cases and 166 arrests in 2024, underscoring clear socio-economic returns. Backed by policy pressure, China’s housing ministry issued 2024 rules that compel interoperable pole deployments, while the EU and India channel dedicated capital through Horizon 2020 and the Smart Cities Mission to speed adoption. Cellular co-location drives 46% of deployments because operators can mount 5G small cells on existing poles, trimming both time and zoning hurdles. Hardware remains the largest spending line, yet software platforms are rapidly scaling as municipalities monetise pole-generated data.

Key Report Takeaways

  • By offering, hardware held 68% of the smart pole market share in 2024, while software is projected to register a 22.4% CAGR to 2030.
  • By installation type, new deployments dominated with 57% revenue in 2024; retrofit installs are poised for a 20.66% CAGR through 2030.
  • By connectivity technology, cellular networks accounted for 46% of the smart pole market size in 2024 and are set to expand at a 24.02% CAGR.
  • By application, highways and roadways captured 52% of the smart pole market size in 2024; parking lots and campuses represent the fastest-growing niche at a 23.30% CAGR.
  • By material, steel and aluminium structures led with 49% revenue in 2024, whereas composite poles are on course for a 21.2% CAGR thanks to lightweight corrosion-resistant designs.
  • By geography, North America commanded 35.4% of the smart pole market in 2024; Asia Pacific is advancing at a 24.29% CAGR through 2030.

Segment Analysis

By Offering: Hardware Outlays Lead, Software Value Rises

Hardware purchases amounted to 68% of the smart pole market in 2024 as poles, luminaires, sensors, and communications gear demand significant upfront capital. Software, though presently a smaller line-item, is compounding at 22.4% annually, signalling a pivot from asset delivery to data services. Signify converts 93% of its EUR 6.1 billion lighting sales into LED units, demonstrating how economies of scale reduce capital costs for municipalities.

Firms now position cloud dashboards, API gateways, and AI-driven analytics as core value streams. Wide-area device management cuts truck rolls, while predictive maintenance extends asset life, improving total-life economics. Consequently, recurring licence and support fees are beginning to rival hardware margins, a progression that underpins long-run growth for the smart pole market.

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Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

By Installation Type: New Builds Dominate but Retrofits Accelerate

New installations comprised 57% of 2024 revenue because green-field smart-city districts favour custom-engineered poles with embedded radios, CCTV, and EV chargers. Retrofit programmes, however, should log a 20.66% CAGR through 2030, outpacing new builds, as cities swap sodium lamps for LED heads plus plug-in sensor modules. Chicago upgraded 270,000 lights to LED while adding remote-control nodes, cutting energy use, and enabling crime analytics.

Retrofits exploit existing power feeds and foundations, trimming civil works costs by as much as 30%. Payback windows can narrow to 4–5 years, suiting municipal budgeting cycles and supporting distributed rollouts. The pattern broadens geographic access, reinforcing demand diversity within the smart pole market.

By Connectivity Technology: Cellular Takes the Lead

Cellular links 4G, 5G, and NB-IoT, held 46% of 2024 revenue, expanding at a 24.02% CAGR as carriers push network densification without erecting new towers. American Tower’s 220,000-site global estate allows operators to piggyback on street poles in crowded urban cores. Robust licensed-spectrum reliability also suits safety-critical traffic-management and emergency-response apps.

Wi-Fi, Zigbee, and Bluetooth address localised, low-data tasks, while fibre or power-line links serve high-bandwidth video surveillance. Hybrid architectures are therefore normal, yet cellular remains the backbone, cementing its primary status in the smart pole market.

By Application: Highways Remain the Volume Anchor

Highways absorbed 52% of the smart pole market size in 2024 because kilometre-scale corridors need uniform illumination and traffic sensing. Wyoming’s I-80 saw 42% collision reductions after adding connected alerts, validating the safety dividend. Parking lots and campuses show the fastest growth at 23.30% CAGR as asset owners seek precise ROI; Walmart’s LED trial cut lighting energy by 63% while boosting perceived safety.

Public plazas, railheads, and harbours add incremental volume, particularly where smart poles double as signage, Wi-Fi hotspots, and charging points. Diversifying use cases fuels steady contribution from multiple sub-sectors, keeping demand resilient across cycles for the smart pole industry.

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Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

By Material: Steel Prevails, Composites Emerge

Steel and aluminium still account for 49% of 2024 shipments due to mature supply chains and favourable price-performance. Yet steel traded at USD 1.60 per pound in 2024, spurring interest in lighter composites that promise 42% cost savings over a 20-year life, owing to corrosion resistance. Covestro’s polycarbonate resins integrate cable-ducts and thermal channels, enabling slimmer profiles and easier 5G radio placement[3]Covestro, “Polycarbonate for Smart Poles,” covestro.com .

Composites are forecast to post a 21.2% CAGR as buyers prioritise life-cycle economics and simplified transport logistics. The resulting mix shift lowers pole weight, widens design freedom, and expands addressable sites, reinforcing long-run upside across the smart pole market.

Geography Analysis

North America commanded 35.4% of 2024 revenue, underpinned by large-scale LED retrofits and utility financing. The New York Power Authority’s plan to network 500,000 streetlights with Signify’s Interact platform highlights project scale and replicability. Robust municipal bond markets facilitate capital access, while broadband carriers harness smart poles to fill suburban 5G gaps, keeping order pipelines steady.

Asia Pacific is the quickest-growing arena, rising at 24.29% CAGR to 2030. China issued national guidelines urging “vehicle-road-cloud” integration, mandating sensorized roadside units that dovetail with multipurpose poles. India’s Smart Cities Mission budgeted INR 11.21 lakh crore (USD 1.35 billion) for 2025-26, of which 90% of 8,000 projects were completed by mid-2024, creating ready-made demand funnels.

Europe maintains consistent expansion owing to the EU’s Digital Europe and Horizon 2020 funds. The bloc allocated EUR 1.4 billion to smart-infrastructure pilots in 134 cities, providing de-risked capital pools. Cornerstone’s partnership with Signify to mount neutral-host 5G radios on street lighting demonstrates how infrastructure sharing cuts operator opex, keeping deal flow healthy despite macro headwinds.

Smart Pole Market CAGR (%), Growth Rate by Region
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Competitive Landscape

The vendor base is moderately fragmented; no single supplier holds a double-digit global revenue share. Lighting majors like Signify marry hardware, cloud software, and lifecycle services to offer turnkey propositions that simplify municipal procurement. The firm crossed 153 million connected light points in Q1 2025, up from 144 million the prior year, indicating strong platform stickiness.

Telecom-tower giants such as American Tower diversify into street-level assets, bundling real-estate expertise with small-cell integration support. Their developed-markets focus syncs with pole densification hotspots, reinforcing revenue resilience. Infrastructure specialists like Valmont supply engineered poles plus construction services; the company logged USD 3 billion infrastructure sales in 2024 and targets USD 4.2 billion in 2025[4]Valmont Industries, “FY 2024 Results,” valmont.com.

Value migration is shifting toward data analytics, drawing software-native entrants that license AI-driven optimisation modules across multi-vendor fleets. Open standards advocacy by IEEE and industry alliances aims to reduce lock-in, a trend likely to heighten competition on services rather than physical bill-of-materials economics. Consolidation through M&A and strategic alliances is expected as vendors race to deliver holistic solutions for the expanding smart pole market.

Smart Pole Industry Leaders

  1. Iram Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

  2. Signify Holding B.V.

  3. Efftronics Systems Pvt. Ltd.

  4. Shanghai Sansi Electronic Engineering Co., Ltd.

  5. Lumca Inc.

  6. *Disclaimer: Major Players sorted in no particular order
Smart Pole Market Concentration
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Recent Industry Developments

  • January 2025: China’s State Council rolled out a vehicle-road-cloud pilot requiring intelligent roadside assets built on smart pole frameworks.
  • December 2024: Valmont unveiled rapid-install 5G poles in the UK using screw-pile foundations to minimise environmental impact.
  • November 2024: China’s housing ministry published urban digital-infrastructure standards that require interoperable smart pole systems.
  • March 2024: Virgin Media O2 completed fixed-network-powered smart pole trials, demonstrating zero-permit rollout of 4G/5G small cells.

Table of Contents for Smart Pole Industry Report

1. INTRODUCTION

  • 1.1 Study Assumptions and Market Definition
  • 1.2 Scope of the Study

2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

4. MARKET LANDSCAPE

  • 4.1 Market Overview
  • 4.2 Market Drivers
    • 4.2.1 Government smart-city mandates
    • 4.2.2 LED-retrofit energy-savings push
    • 4.2.3 5G/small-cell co-location demand
    • 4.2.4 Falling IoT-sensor costs
    • 4.2.5 Ad-revenue and data-monetisation PPPs
    • 4.2.6 ESG-linked muni-bond funding
  • 4.3 Market Restraints
    • 4.3.1 High upfront capex and ROI risk
    • 4.3.2 Interoperability gaps in protocols
    • 4.3.3 Urban-aesthetic zoning limits
    • 4.3.4 Cyber-physical insurance premiums
  • 4.4 Value/Supply-Chain Analysis
  • 4.5 Regulatory Landscape
  • 4.6 Technological Outlook
  • 4.7 Porter's Five Forces Analysis
    • 4.7.1 Threat of New Entrants
    • 4.7.2 Bargaining Power of Buyers
    • 4.7.3 Bargaining Power of Suppliers
    • 4.7.4 Threat of Substitutes
    • 4.7.5 Competitive Rivalry
  • 4.8 COVID-19 and Macroeconomic Impact
  • 4.9 Investment Analysis

5. MARKET SIZE AND GROWTH FORECASTS (VALUE)

  • 5.1 By Offering
    • 5.1.1 Hardware Units
    • 5.1.2 Software Platform
    • 5.1.3 Services
  • 5.2 By Installation Type
    • 5.2.1 New Installation
    • 5.2.2 Retrofit
  • 5.3 By Connectivity Technology
    • 5.3.1 Wired (PLC, Fiber)
    • 5.3.2 Wireless (Wi-Fi, BLE, Zigbee)
    • 5.3.3 Cellular (4G/LTE, 5G, NB-IoT)
  • 5.4 By Application
    • 5.4.1 Highways and Roadways
    • 5.4.2 Public Places and Plazas
    • 5.4.3 Railways and Harbors
    • 5.4.4 Parking Lots and Campuses
  • 5.5 By Material
    • 5.5.1 Steel/Aluminum
    • 5.5.2 Composite and CFRP
    • 5.5.3 Concrete
  • 5.6 By Region
    • 5.6.1 North America
    • 5.6.1.1 United States
    • 5.6.1.2 Canada
    • 5.6.1.3 Mexico
    • 5.6.2 South America
    • 5.6.2.1 Argentina
    • 5.6.2.2 Brazil
    • 5.6.2.3 Rest of South America
    • 5.6.3 Europe
    • 5.6.3.1 United Kingdom
    • 5.6.3.2 Germany
    • 5.6.3.3 France
    • 5.6.3.4 Rest of Europe
    • 5.6.4 Asia-Pacific
    • 5.6.4.1 China
    • 5.6.4.2 Japan
    • 5.6.4.3 India
    • 5.6.4.4 Rest of Asia-Pacific
    • 5.6.5 Middle East and Africa
    • 5.6.5.1 Saudi Arabia
    • 5.6.5.2 United Arab Emirates
    • 5.6.5.3 South Africa
    • 5.6.5.4 Rest of Middle East and Africa

6. COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

  • 6.1 Market Concentration
  • 6.2 Strategic Moves
  • 6.3 Market Share Analysis
  • 6.4 Company Profiles (includes Global level Overview, Market level overview, Core Segments, Financials as available, Strategic Information, Market Rank/Share for key companies, Products and Services, and Recent Developments)
    • 6.4.1 Signify Holding NV
    • 6.4.2 Valmont Industries Inc.
    • 6.4.3 Iram Technologies Pvt Ltd
    • 6.4.4 Indus Towers Ltd
    • 6.4.5 Lumca Inc.
    • 6.4.6 Efftronics Systems Pvt Ltd
    • 6.4.7 Shanghai Sansi Electronic Engg.
    • 6.4.8 SmartCiti Solutions Inc.
    • 6.4.9 American Tower Corp.
    • 6.4.10 ENE.HUB Pty Ltd
    • 6.4.11 Cisco Systems Inc.
    • 6.4.12 Telensa Ltd
    • 6.4.13 CU Phosco Lighting
    • 6.4.14 Keselec Lighting Pvt Ltd
    • 6.4.15 LEDbow Technologies Ltd
    • 6.4.16 Norsk Hydro ASA
    • 6.4.17 Streetscape International
    • 6.4.18 Omniflow SA
    • 6.4.19 Ericsson AB
    • 6.4.20 Nokia Corp.
    • 6.4.21 HUB Group

7. MARKET OPPORTUNITIES AND FUTURE OUTLOOK

  • 7.1 White-space and Unmet-Need Assessment
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Global Smart Pole Market Report Scope

Smart poles are connected light sources that can be remotely managed. The smart pole technology offers multi-utility functions and facilities for citizens, visitors, and businesses. Smart poles are used in applications, such as highways, roadways, and public places. Smart pole features technology to improve mobile network performance across the city and provide various benefits, such as internet connectivity, public announcement speakers, and charging points, to help citizens in public places.

The study tracks the key market parameters, underlying growth influencers, and major vendors operating in the industry, which supports the market estimations and growth rates over the forecast period. The scope of the report encompasses market sizing and forecast for segmentation by geography. The market sizes and forecasts are provided in terms of value (USD) for the above segments. The study further analyzes the impact of COVID-19 on the ecosystem.

By Offering Hardware Units
Software Platform
Services
By Installation Type New Installation
Retrofit
By Connectivity Technology Wired (PLC, Fiber)
Wireless (Wi-Fi, BLE, Zigbee)
Cellular (4G/LTE, 5G, NB-IoT)
By Application Highways and Roadways
Public Places and Plazas
Railways and Harbors
Parking Lots and Campuses
By Material Steel/Aluminum
Composite and CFRP
Concrete
By Region North America United States
Canada
Mexico
South America Argentina
Brazil
Rest of South America
Europe United Kingdom
Germany
France
Rest of Europe
Asia-Pacific China
Japan
India
Rest of Asia-Pacific
Middle East and Africa Saudi Arabia
United Arab Emirates
South Africa
Rest of Middle East and Africa
By Offering
Hardware Units
Software Platform
Services
By Installation Type
New Installation
Retrofit
By Connectivity Technology
Wired (PLC, Fiber)
Wireless (Wi-Fi, BLE, Zigbee)
Cellular (4G/LTE, 5G, NB-IoT)
By Application
Highways and Roadways
Public Places and Plazas
Railways and Harbors
Parking Lots and Campuses
By Material
Steel/Aluminum
Composite and CFRP
Concrete
By Region
North America United States
Canada
Mexico
South America Argentina
Brazil
Rest of South America
Europe United Kingdom
Germany
France
Rest of Europe
Asia-Pacific China
Japan
India
Rest of Asia-Pacific
Middle East and Africa Saudi Arabia
United Arab Emirates
South Africa
Rest of Middle East and Africa
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Key Questions Answered in the Report

What is the current value of the smart pole market?

The smart pole market is valued at USD 24.06 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach USD 60.15 billion by 2030.

Which segment is growing the fastest?

Software platforms show the highest momentum with a 22.4% CAGR through 2030 as cities monetise data from connected poles.

Why are cellular networks central to smart pole adoption?

Cellular connectivity enables 5G small-cell co-location, providing carriers with rapid and cost-effective densification while offering municipalities an extra revenue stream.

Which region will expand the quickest by 2030?

Asia Pacific is forecast to post a 24.29% CAGR, propelled by China’s national digital-infrastructure mandates and India’s Smart Cities Mission.

What is the chief barrier to deployment?

High upfront capital expenditure and long payback periods deter budget-constrained municipalities, particularly in developing markets.

How do smart poles aid public safety?

Integrated cameras and sensors feed real-time data to law-enforcement systems, with San Diego reporting 229 criminal cases supported by its smart lighting network in 2024.

Page last updated on: July 7, 2025

Smart Pole Market Report Snapshots