Philips Joins Osram to Lure Cities With LED Innovations
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The lighting business used to be pretty straightforward: customers bought their light bulbs and a year or so later replaced them.
Light-emitting diodes -- smaller, more energy efficient and with lifespans of more than 20 years -- are forcing market leaders Royal Philips NV and Osram Licht AG to adapt. The companies now seek long-term contracts to install complex lighting systems for whole cities from Washington D.C. to Amsterdam and equip buildings such as Paris’ Notre Dame cathedral with luminaires.