New Acquisition Brings Broadband to Smart Grid Communications
This week, Trilliant (Redwood, CA based smart meter solution provider) announced its purchase of SkyPilot which develops long-range, broadband wireless mesh technology based on a longer-range application of WiFi (up to ten miles).
According to the company’s release “SkyPilot has redefined broadband wireless through a patented system that achieves high bandwidth and 100% coverage at breakthrough economics using an innovative, standards-based, wireless architecture. Utilities, service providers, public service agencies and municipalities have used SkyPilot solutions to cost-effectively deploy wireless broadband applications in challenging environments worldwide. The SkyPilot technology delivers over 10x the bandwidth of cellular, millisecond latency, standard Ethernet IP connectivity, end-to-end security, automatic adaptation to variable topography and density — all at a low cost point with proven technology.”
Jeff St. John on the GreenTechGrid blog quotes Eric Miller, Trilliant’s chief solutions officer as saying “U.S. smart meter deployments have primarily used lower-power, lower-bandwidth (and lower cost) wireless or powerline carrier technologies to link smart meters to each other in a neighborhood area network. Trilliant and rival startup Silver Spring Networks, as well as proprietary systems from meter makers like Itron and Landis+Gyr, fit that bill. Those networks are typically connected to collection points that use a variety of higher-bandwidth communications – fiber, cellular, satellite, WiMax – provided by a different set of companies. The Trilliant-SkyPilot combination will bring both into one integrated architecture, soon to be supported by an integrated network management system and user interface.”
According the Jesse Berst, founding editor of SmartGridNews.com, “With this acquisition, Trilliant becomes the only company that can promise high-bandwidth coverage to every customer and substation in the territory as well as a single view of the entire network.”
Who will win the communications race to provide seamless, scalable, and affordable smart grid? It’s anyone’s guess now, but these companies will be among the ones to watch.