There are few battles fiercer in the cleantech business than the holy war currently being waged over which communications and networking technologies will prevail in smart grid deployments.
Wide area networking technologies are integral to the fabric of smart grids, and will be essential elements of any electric utility’s smart grid program. Current utility communication systems are highly fragmented, purpose-built for specific applications, and often based on proprietary technologies. However, the prevailing winds are blowing in the direction of more unified architectures that utilize two-way, low-latency, standards-based networking technologies that are scalable and flexible to support a variety of applications using varying bit rates.
Today Trilliant, already a significant player in RF mesh networking for smart grids, announced that it is acquiring SkyPilot Networks, a provider of broadband wireless mesh networking products for public safety, wireless ISP, video surveillance, VoIP, and AMR markets. SkyPilot utilizes standards-based Wi-Fi chipsets, but its special sauce includes synchronous switching technology that utilizes directional antennas to extend the range far beyond that of standard Wi-Fi.
