monica.paolini posted on June 21, 2010 16:29
Electric utilities are reliable, ubiquitous providers of essential services, but have often been seen as resistant to change and innovation. Smart grid initiatives are rapidly reversing this perception, as utilities take a leading role in technological innovation and the efficient use of natural resources.
With smart grid applications, utilities can increase operational efficiencies, improve service quality, and save on costs. To make these achievements possible, utilities need to transform the way they operate their business-how they generate power, and how they deliver it to the end customer.
To take full advantage of smart grid applications, utilities' commitment has to extend beyond the initial capex. In particular, smart grid applications require a powerful, reliable, and secure telecom infrastructure to transport crucial information across all the utilities' assets. A growing number of utilities realize they need to become full-fledged telecom operators, managing networks that integrate a variety of wireline and wireless technologies in order to extract full benefits from the smart grid.
Utilities are under heavy pressure to move forward quickly and to select cost-effective, future-proof technologies that will generate a positive return on investment (ROI). The choice, however, can be difficult, because smart grid deployments break new ground, and utilities cannot rely solely on their previous experience. They need to chart new paths.
Our latest white paper focuses on how utilities can leverage 4G wireless broadband technologies like WiMAX to implement smart grid applications, using standards-based technologies that meet their unique performance, security, and reliability requirements.
We begin with an overview of the evolving role of telecoms and, specifically, wireless telecoms within utilities, and of the requirements involved in supporting smart grid applications. We continue with a discussion of the benefits of WiMAX, its business case proposition, and deployment considerations.
Download the paper
