PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The little light that tells you your cable box is plugged in has emerged as the new thing in city streetlights, and by this fall about 16,800 streetlights in Providence will be part of that trend.

Light-emitting diodes are being touted as more than brighter, cheaper lights. The fixtures that hold the new bulbs also have small transmitters that form a network that can report each light’s on/off status and allow a central control to brighten or dim each light individually.