GE today announced the first pilot program in the U.S. to run the smart grid over a WiMax network. GE said that the trial, being conducted by Michigan-based utility Consumer Energy, will have a number of benefits, including increased efficiency, more bandwidth, security, lower costs and the ability to react to potential outages before they occur. In another boon to WiMax in the U.S., GridNet, a smart-metering company that relies on the 4G technology, announced that Cisco has taken an equity investment in the company. Cisco made this investment in GridNet’s WiMax-focused business even though the company has been moving away from WiMax in other areas of its business, including base stations.
Both companies are looking to take advantage of utilities in the U.S. that have received stimulus funding for smart-grid updates or are eager to move ahead anyway. GE’s release reads:
“This pilot is especially timely, given the Federal Communications Commission’s March 17 National Broadband Plan announcement, which recognized a clear need for improving the communications infrastructure to modernize the electric grid. GE’s pilot falls directly in line with the plan’s call for a potent, clearly defined reliable and integrated infrastructure to strengthen America’s energy future and enable the promise of the smart grid to become reality.”
Connected Planet’s take, Sarah Reedy:
WiMax may appear to be overkill for the smart grid, which only requires low data-rate transmissions, but it is particularly appealing because it can scale to include any functionality that utilities may want to add to the grid. And it can do it much cheaper than 3G technologies. Trials and deployments are driven today by advanced metering infrastructure, but that could grow to include demand response, supervisory control and data acquisition, electric vehicles, and other energy- and cost-saving applications.
Sprint, which is a GE and GridNet partner, has been pushing WiMax for the grid for some time now. Sprint CEO Dan Hesse admitted to CTIA attendees yesterday that WiMax won’t be larger than competing technology long-term evolution, but that the carrier is focusing instead on making it the first technology out of the gate. That should give it a leg up in attracting utility partners to use the network, as well. GridNet already supplies its software to Australian utility SP AusNet, which has been deploying WiMax-based smart-grid technologies over Unwired Australia wireless spectrum. The market in the U.S. has been slower to move, but today’s announcement should be encouraging. Utilities are eager to build out their smart-grid strategies and many are looking to partners to help with the network infrastructure. WiMax, in conjunction with 3G, provides an attractive alternative that, most importantly, is available today.
That’s our take on this. Let us know what you think in the comments section below:
I welcome more article on this subject, especially greater visibility into meters as IP devices with storage and communications capabilities, and protocols related to it, on the “premises” side and on the “WAN” side. Thanks.
Had already used WiMAX in the winter of 2007 for monitoring and telemetry of Transformers and Switch Yards in Northern Quebec, Canada. We successfully provided the remote SCADA functions, and the designs I helped create withstood not only the extremes of ice and snow, winter nights dipping to near -40F, but also continued to perform while in intense fields underneath the 750KV Transmission lines used in these locales. Its nice to see Smart-Grid finally taking off in earnest.