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Motorola Wins WiMAX Based Smart
Metering Contract
Smart Meter Electricity
Gauss Meters
Tri Field Meter
Radio Frequency Meters
By:
Ian Mansfield
Motorola says that it has won a contract to supply the first
WiMAX based smart metering hardware. The contract has been
awarded by the Australian energy utility, SP AusNet,
covering around 680,000 customers in Victoria.
Smart metering is a full measurement and collection system
that includes customer meters, communication networks and
data management systems.
Motorola will supply and deploy Wimax Wap 650 base stations
operating at 2.3GHz, Access Service Network (ASN) Gateway
and new microwave systems to extend the wide area network
(WAN) to new Coverage areas. The system will facilitate
communication with SP AusNet's Smart Meters embedded with
WiMAX chipsets, collecting measurements and sending
instructions in real time, supporting the analysis of usage
patterns and power generation needs.
The project spans a four-year period, and Motorola will
start shipping and installing products by the end of 2009.
"This is the first time WiMAX technology will be used in
smart metering for an electrical utility company. The WiMAX
technology supports high-speed data communications and
hundreds of thousands of smart metering connections that are
capable of covering large geographical areas, providing a
solid foundation to build a reliable and cost-effective
communications network for smart metering," said Eric
Starnes, vice president of sales and operations for
Motorola's Home & Networks Mobility business in Asia.
"Motorola's WiMAX solution will deliver a standards-based,
carrier-grade solution that is secure, reliable and flexible
to meet SP AusNet's smart metering requirements while
delivering an unmatched quality of services. The contract
win demonstrates our commitment to help customers like SP
AusNet expand their capabilities."
Victoria is the first state in Australia to implement the
extensive roll-out of smart meters. The government-led
initiative will enable more than 2.2 million homes and
300,000 businesses to better manage their energy needs, cut
carbon emissions and help increase retail competition.
Utility companies with smart metering systems will be able
to provide innovative pricing structures such as discounted
rates during non-peak hours. The WiMAX-based system also can
support a series of new functions such as remote connection
and disconnection, outage detection and notification, power
quality control and asset optimization.
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