Digi International has introduced the ConnectPort X2e, an enhanced version of the company’s ZigBee smart energy gateway. The gateway connects ZigBee smart energy devices from a home area network (HAN) to an energy service provider via broadband. ConnectPort X2e offers additional memory and processing power for over-the-air updates of connected smart energy devices and provides Continue reading →
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The stark differences in how electric utilities and broadband providers are regulated at the state level could slow the development of smart grid technologies, several panelists at BroadbandCensus.org’s Broadband Breakfast Club said Nov. 15. via States Need Nudging to Create Incentives For Utility Smart-Grid Investment, Experts … | BNA.
When the Federal Communications Commission identified six concrete goals in the national broadband plan, the one specific application highlighted by the agency was energy consumption: “To ensure that America leads in the clean energy economy, every American should be able to use broadband to track and manage their real-time energy consumption.” via BroadbandBreakfast.com: Will Consumer-Friendly Continue reading →
IEEE announced this week the ratification of the IEEE 1901 Broadband over Powerline standard, which allows for data rates of 500 Mbps in local area networks such as the home, where it could be one of the systems of choice for delivering information about energy usage back to energy providers and to residents in real Continue reading →
Will the smart grid be the savior of the wireless standard WiMAX? When it comes to the next-generation of wireless broadband known as 4G, WiMAX has generally been taking a back seat to the more telco-friendly LTE (or long term evolution). But in an interview with Mark Madden, Vice President of Energy Markets for Americas Continue reading →
The New Mexico counties of Rio Arriba, Los Alamos, northern Santa Fe and five American Indian communities will receive $10.6 million in stimulus grants to improve high-speed Internet infrastructure, according to the U.S. Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration. …The project also will promote energy efficiency by enabling smart grid applications for regional rural Continue reading →
America's first wireless Smart Grid network has been deployed in Plumas-Sierra county, California, using TV White Space spectrum as a means to deliver connectivity. Using Google’s PowerMeter technology, service provider Spectrum Bridge has joined forces with Plumas-Sierra Rural Electric Cooperative and Telecommunications (PSREC) to test the new network’s capabilities in delivering real-time broadband connectivity and Continue reading →
Stratford wants to build a smarter community — don’t worry you won’t have to go back to school. Festival Hydro unveiled a new company called Rhyzome Networks Friday, the final day of the Ontario Small Urban Municipalities conference here. Rhyzome is a fibre-optics branch of Festival Hydro. It doesn’t create content on the Internet but Continue reading →
U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., called the grant “a two-part victory for the Northeast Kingdom – improved electricity reliability and an enhanced broadband backbone that will expand the smart grid and broadband access.” Commenting on the grant, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., “During the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, there is no better Continue reading →
There are two sets of standards for powerline communications – one for household wiring, the other for powerline communications – and the advocates for each are finally going to try to cooperate, with the Smart Grid program as a catalyst and the IEEE as a mediator. The IEEE Standards Association (IEEE-SA) said it is facilitating Continue reading →
Glendale Water & Power (GWP) and Tropos Networks announced today that Tropos’ GridCom architecture has been selected as a core element of GWP’s Smart Grid Initiative. GridCom™ is based upon Tropos’ wireless broadband mesh network system and will be used as the utility’s private distribution area network to deliver high-speed communications between the utility, utility Continue reading →
After more recent and serious delving into the merits of The National Broadband Plan, with the usual effects of a clearer understanding; a more interesting and omnipresent realization begins to emerge. How can we not see, and surely embrace, the positive effects such a plan could have on an energy consuming U.S. thereby creating an Continue reading →
The National Broadband Plan, recently published by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), would lay the groundwork for the federal government to establish a nationwide “smart” electrical grid that would change how Americans use and pay for electricity, affecting such things as homes and transportation with battery-powered cars. via CNSNews.com – FCC’s Broadband Plan Sets Groundwork Continue reading →
Commenting on the FCC’s (News – Alert) National Broadband Plan, GE officials said the company applauds the commission’s willingness to investigate all alternatives, including a dedicated communications spectrum for smart grid applications. In the National Broadband Plan, FCC has recognized the need for improving the communications infrastructure to modernize the electric grid. via FCC Plan Highlights Continue reading →
Itron Inc. (ITRI 73.24, +0.54, +0.75%) and Tropos Networks announced today an agreement to jointly develop products for the utility market including an integrated network solution. The joint solution will allow utilities to extend their smart grid foundation into a comprehensive, privately owned broadband network for utility applications. This aligns with the larger goal of Continue reading →
At the IPTV World Forum, the HomePlug Powerline Alliance, the driving force for global powerline network technology, today celebrated its 10th anniversary by announcing several key milestones. With HomePlug technology continuing to gain momentum for broadband, IPTV and triple-play services, the organization has added nine technology vendors and utility companies to its roster, and is Continue reading →
For all you broadband junkies, it’s here: the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) unveiled the first U.S. National Broadband Plan on Tuesday morning. And — what we’re particularly interested in — there’s an entire chapter on Energy and the Environment (Chapter 12, Page 245). The National Broadband Plan looks at how broadband can be used to Continue reading →
The future is coming into focus. We’ll need smart grids for electricity and broadband for communications. We’ll need powerful networks that combine smart grid and broadband, giving citizens lower electric rates, quality TV and phone service via Internet protocol (IP) and the ability to upload and download data faster than ever before. via More Speed, Continue reading →
Labor and environmental groups joined with the U.S. government on Thursday to promote high speed Internet access and related technologies to create green jobs and help lift the United States out of recession. “In the same way that building the interstate freeway system brought the United States out of the post-World War Two recession … Continue reading →
A federal plan to wire the entire United States with high-speed Internet access will be key to creating a nationwide “smart” power grid for reducing wasted electricity, according to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski recently provided a preview of the National Purposes Update, a document that identifies opportunities for broadband deployment Continue reading →
