4G and WiMAX for the Smart Grid:
Enabling Access, Applications and Affordability

Published: February 2010
72
Pages
Author: Frank Ohrtman

Single-user $ 995 US
Company-wide $ 1,995 US


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Overview

Any smart grid is a telecommunications network for the utility and the communities it serves. 4G technologies provide any power utility with the most cost effective technology in monitoring the grid from power production to power consumption. Not only will a 4G smart grid read meters, they will also provide a range of cost saving services to the utility and the community as a whole. Mind Commerce's new research 4G and WiMAX for the Smart Grid: Enabling Access, Applications and Affordability proposes WiMAX as a Last Mile or 'Access' solution to provide a range of smart grid solutions or 'Applications' which, when compared with other smart grid technologies such as Broadband over Power Line (BPL) come in at less than half the cost per household reached offering industry leading 'Affordability' figures.

The research indicates that given the dilemma of US Department of energy awarding billions of dollars in smart grid grants while standards making bodies dither in providing the industry with standards, the power industry should look to the latest and greatest standards in telecommunications (Internet Protocol and 4G technologies such as WiMAX) to take advantage of federal dollars available for smart grid deployments while saving money on operating expenses. In addition, the deployment of a 4G network would enable the utility to offer wholesale and retail telecommunications services contributing new revenue streams for the utility while shortening the Return on Investment (ROI).

Any utility manager studying their smart grid options is no doubt concerned about the security of any smart grid network (foreign agents have been known to attempt to hack some parts of the US power grid), Quality of Service (QoS) issues, reliability of the technology and the potential for harmful interference to take down their smart grid network. This publication tackles those objections head-on in easy-to-understand language addressing both Last Mile and Middle Mile portions of a 4G smart grid network.

Most importantly, the paper analyses a BPL deployment in Boulder, Colorado where the power utility deployed a BPL-based smart grid at a cost of $1,000 per household reached. The research finds that a more powerful, mobile, 4G, standards-based network could have been deployed at a cost of $440 per household reached. The financial analysis offers a worksheet for power utilities to determine return on investment.

With its exhaustive analysis of 4G and smart grid, there is no other research currently available as comprehensive as 4G and WiMAX for the Smart Grid: Enabling Access, Applications and Affordability.

Key Findings

- 4G Smart Grid can be deployed at half the cost of broadband over Power Line (BPL) via an off-the-shelf solution

- Incremental revenue streams can be enjoyed via wholesaling telecommunications services supported by 4G smart grid applications

- 4G smart grid solutions provide utilities with cost savings on internal operations (mobile work force applications, etc)

- Ubiquitous broadband services can be realized through the deployment of 4G in the power utilities' market providing greater efficiencies for smart grid subsidies


Target Market

- Power utilities companies
- Renewable energy companies
- Telecommunications service providers
- Telecommunications vendors seeking entry to the smart grid market
- Government regulatory authorities
-Power sector vendors
- Telecommunications and utility investors

Table of Contents

Executive summary -The 3 A's

Access: 4G as Smart Grid Access Technology

What is a 4G Network?

Standards Based Equipment

4G and Smart Grid

4G Last Mile Access: What is WiMAX?

Fixed vs. Mobile WiMAX

Utility Manager Objections to WiMAX

Interference

Good Quality of Service

WiMAX Reliability

WiMAX is not Wi-Fi

WiMAX Components

WiMAX Base Stations

Outdoor CPE

Indoor CPE

USB, netbooks, femtocells

Link budget and building penetration

Spectrum Considerations

Internet Protocol

Access Conclusion

4G Backhaul Overview

Wireless Middle Mile Solutions

Considerations for Wireless Middle Mile

Backhaul Requirements

Licensed Microwave Wireless Backhaul Solutions

Licenses protect the links

Gigabit Ethernet Wireless Backhaul Solutions

Quality of Service (QoS)

Interference mitigation

Frequency Reuse

Rain fades

Reliability/availability

Ease of Licensing: E-Band in the US

High Availability

Backhaul Conclusion

Wireless Backhaul Considerations

Comparisons with Fiber

APPLICATIONS FOR A 4G SMART GRID

What does a utility need?

Grid monitoring

Meter reading, remote turn-on/turn-off

Grid physical security

Monitoring and metering distributed generation

AFFORDABILITY: COST PER HOUSEHOLD REACHED

Capital Expenditures: Cost per Subscriber or Household Reached

Operational Expenditures

Unconventional Revenue Streams

Conclusion

Frank Ohrtman has almost 20 years experience in VoIP and wireless applications. He is the president of WMX Systems, LLC, a Denver, Colorado-based consulting and systems integration firm. Mr. Ohrtman learned to perform in-depth research and write succinct analyses during his years as a Navy Intelligence Officer (1981-1991) during which he specialized in electronic intelligence and electronic warfare. He is a veteran of U.S. Navy actions in Lebanon (awarded Navy Expeditionary Medal), Grenada, Libya (awarded Joint Service Commendation Medal), and the Gulf War (awarded National Defense Service Medal).

His telecommunications career began with selling VoIP gateway switches for Netrix Corporation to long distance bypass carriers. He went on to promote softswitch solutions for Lucent Technologies (Qwest Account Manager) and Vsys (Western Region Sales Manager). His consulting clients include national governments and tier one telephone companies.

Mr. Ohrtman is a Gerson Lehrman Group Scholar (http://www.glgcouncils.com) and serves as Dean of WiMAX for Applied Learning Solutions (http://www.e-als.com). He is a regular blogger and contributor to WiMAX.com (http://www.wimax.com) and annual presenter at WiMAX World (http://www.wimaxworld.com) as well as local Cisco Users Groups. Mr. Ohrtman serves as an advisor to Bush Telecommunications Pty Ltd and the Rural Broadband Consortium of Australia.

Mr. Ohrtman holds a Master of Science degree in Telecommunications from Colorado University College of Engineering (master's thesis: "Softswitch As Class 4 Replacement-A Disruptive Technology"), a Master of Arts degree in International Relations from Boston University and a Bachelor of Arts, Political Science, from University of Iowa

Frank may be reached at Frank@MindCommerce.com


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