Smart street lighting forecast to more than double by 2030

Smart street lighting is forecast to more than double globally by 2030, as LED modernisation and connected controls turn conventional lighting infrastructure into increasingly managed highway assets.

Street lighting has traditionally been a simple proposition: provide illumination when it gets dark. That is changing as more lighting systems are fitted with controls that allow individual lights to be monitored and managed remotely.

New research from Berg Insight estimates that the global installed base of individually controlled smart street lights reached 38.5 million units at the end of 2025. It forecasts that figure will rise to 87.6 million by the end of 2030.

In brief:

• The global installed base of smart street lights reached 38.5 million at the end of 2025.
• The figure is forecast to reach 87.6 million by 2030.
• Europe accounted for 36% of the global installed base in 2025.
• LED modernisation and growing demand for connected lighting controls are supporting adoption.

Why smart street lighting is becoming a bigger highways issue

The numbers matter because street lighting is already a major part of the public highway estate. Every additional connected lighting point creates another asset that can potentially be monitored and controlled without relying solely on physical inspections.

Smart street lighting generally involves lighting control units that allow individual lights to be remotely monitored and managed. Depending on the system, this can include functions such as switching, dimming and identifying faults.

That creates a fairly straightforward operational benefit. Instead of treating a lighting network as a collection of individual lamps that are inspected and maintained periodically, authorities and operators can have more information about the condition and operation of individual assets.

The technology is also increasingly being incorporated into LED modernisation and replacement programmes. Berg Insight said lighting control units are becoming part of the standard specification for new LED projects in a growing number of markets.

That matters because LED replacement is already changing large parts of the street lighting estate. Adding connectivity at the same time can avoid treating remote control as an entirely separate infrastructure project.

There is an energy argument too. Berg Insight identifies rising energy costs, sustainability targets and greater attention to the environmental impact of public lighting as factors supporting the market. The research also points to operational benefits, particularly among major utilities.

For highway authorities, the attraction is therefore not necessarily about making a lamp column more complicated for the sake of it. It is about gaining greater control over an existing asset.

That distinction is important. Smart lighting does not mean every street light suddenly becomes a multi-purpose sensor platform. The core function remains lighting. The difference is that the lighting equipment can increasingly become a connected asset, with information about its operation available remotely.

The technology used to connect those assets is also changing. Berg Insight says proprietary radio-frequency mesh systems still account for a large proportion of the installed base, reflecting their use in major projects over the past decade. However, cellular technologies are gaining ground and are expected to be the fastest-growing connectivity category in the coming years.

For infrastructure managers, that introduces another consideration alongside the lamp itself. A connected lighting network needs communications, control equipment and systems capable of managing large numbers of distributed assets.

The geographical picture is also significant. Europe was the largest regional market at the end of 2025, accounting for 36% of the global installed base. North America represented 29%, while China accounted for around 15%.

That makes this more than a niche smart-city experiment. The global installed base is forecast to increase by 49.1 million individually controlled lights between the end of 2025 and the end of 2030.

For the highways sector, the more interesting question is what happens once connectivity becomes a normal part of lighting replacement rather than a specialist addition. Maintenance becomes increasingly data-led, faults can potentially be identified remotely and lighting levels can be managed without treating every change as a visit to the column.

That does not remove the need for physical maintenance. Lamp columns, electrical equipment and control units still have to be inspected, repaired and replaced. But it can change how maintenance teams know where attention is needed.

The wider shift is similar to what is happening across other parts of highway infrastructure, where physical assets are increasingly accompanied by digital information and remote monitoring. We recently looked at that broader move in connected vehicle data discussions ahead of Interchange 2026.

For drivers and residents, the change may remain largely invisible. A well-managed lighting system is still just a row of lights doing its job. The difference is increasingly happening behind the scenes, where authorities and operators can monitor individual assets and manage lighting networks remotely.

The forecast from Berg Insight suggests that this is becoming a much larger part of the infrastructure market. Smart street lighting is not replacing the basic job of illuminating roads and footways. It is adding a layer of control and information to an asset that already exists on almost every urban highway.

And that may be the more important change. The street light is still there to light the road. It is just becoming considerably easier to manage from somewhere else.