TOKYO -- Japan's government will allow NTT Docomo and its three major mobile rivals to set up 5G base stations on traffic signals, hoping to reduce the cost and time it takes to roll out the ultrafast networks by taking advantage of the nation's high density of traffic lights.
The roughly 200,000 traffic signals are administered by local governments. Local authorities will be able to use the networks for self-driving vehicle projects and emergency communications in natural disasters.
