While there are about 17.7 million WiMAX subscribers around the world, and the WiMAX Forum estimates there will be 45 million by 2013, the future of the technology is looking bleak. Declan Byrne, director of marketing at the WiMAX Forum, admits that when it comes to mobile broadband, Long Term Evolution technology has won, which Continue reading →
WiMax
Summary The battle of WiMAX vs. LTE for 4G mobile cellular carriers such as AT&T and Verizon is decided with LTE the general winner. However, WiMAX is not out of the ecosystem by any means. WiMAX will be the solution of choice for a variety of niche applications, such as supporting the smart grid, public 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 →
CenterPoint Energy has only good things to say about power line networking, except when it comes to the cost. The energy delivery company conducted a trial earlier in the decade with power line networking in approximately 10,000 homes, said Ken Murphy, Director of Intelligent Grid Deployment at the company, during a talk at NI Week, Continue reading →
The smart grid is a network and one company can’t provide all of the end-to-end gear or software. That’s why strategic partnerships will be key for companies, particularly startups. This morning Grid Net, the smart meter software startup that has been building a smart grid ecosystem around the wireless standard WiMAX, announced that it’s partnered Continue reading →
Utility company Energy Australia is planning to build a $50 million WiMax wireless network as part of a smartgrid roll-out in the Sydney-Newcastle area. The development will, among other things, enable time-based pricing, which has been successfully resisted by consumers of a similar system in Victoria, after they discovered the system would see them paying Continue reading →
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 Continue reading →
Electrical equipment manufacturer Cooper Industries expanded its Smart Grid strategy today with the acquisition of wireless networking provider Eka Systems. The deal is significant because it shows just how hard it is for smaller wireless networking companies like Eka to compete in an increasingly crowded field dominated by generously-backed players like Trilliant and Silver Spring Continue reading →
Utilities were excited at first by the high-bandwidth, long-haul capabilities of the wireless communications technology WiMax in the smart grid. That excitement has waned. High costs and coverage gaps led many to favor alternatives for tasks other than simple “backhaul” data transmission to and from local collection points. via GE: Waiting for WiMax : Greentech Media.
Smart grids represent a paradigm shift in electrical power distribution and management, incorporating advanced two-way communications and distributed computing capabilities for improved control, efficiency, reliability and safety. The smart grid offers a range of benefits for both consumers and utilities including real-time communication, monitoring and management of power delivery to homes and businesses, providing actionable Continue reading →
Cisco Systems has been scouting for major plays in the Smart Grid infrastructure arena for about a year — some analysts even speculated that it would buy wireless networking provider Silver Spring Networks. But today, it announced its decision to go with Grid Net, one of the first and only companies to trumpet WiMAX as Continue reading →
A pilot program employing WiMax 4G communications and GE (GE 18.30, +0.01, +0.06%) smart meters has worked to allow Consumers Energy's Michigan customers to get the best out of their energy delivery infrastructure. This is the first-ever U.S. smart grid pilot program using this technology. The pilot seeks to demonstrate how real-time, wireless communications between Continue reading →
On Friday, Cisco Systems announced a partnership with Grid Net, a smart meter company that employs WiMax Technology to send data about electricity usage back to utility companies. Grid Net has also garnered with ClearWire, Motorola, Intel, and General Electric. With the investment by Cisco, Grid Net is poised to become the leader in smart Continue reading →
The general feeling is that when the dust settles, Long Term Evolution (LTE) will be ahead of WiMax in the overall 4G bakeoff. Many observers suggest that WiMax could end up as a niche technology, while LTE, which is the favored approach of Verizon Wireless and AT&T, dominates. If this is so, WiMax is making Continue reading →
2010 year will be a major year for the wireless standard WiMAX and the smart grid, says Sprint’s national program manager for utilities Robert Gustin. Sprint, the third largest phone company in the U.S., owns a joint venture with carrier Clearwire focused on WiMAX, a nascent, high-speed wireless technology that has morphed into an alternative Continue reading →
According to SBI Research, the market for smart grid enabling technologies (including two-way wireless communications) in the United States is currently about $6.4 billion. This market is expected to grow at 20.8 percent annually through 2014, when the smart grid enabling technology market will be about $16.5 billion. The bulk of this market will go Continue reading →
Motorola, GE and Grid Net are part of a group of companies looking to bring a WiMax 4G-based smart grid program to Australia. Officials say the initiative will create the first smart grid based on the WiMax wireless platform. The program includes the installation of smart meters in almost 700,000 households and businesses in Australia Continue reading →
GE Energy Services, a supplier of power generation and energy delivery technologies, reportedly announced that its WiMAX (News – Alert) fourth-generation smart grid solution is installed by SP AusNet, a diversified energy business in Australia. “SP AusNet is installing a highly capable smart grid communications system,” said Bob Gilligan, vice president of GE Energy Services’ Continue reading →
WiMAX might be losing attention and mindshare from telcos in the U.S., but it’s another story entirely when it comes to that oh-so-buzzy sector the smart grid. Utilities across the globe are increasingly starting to test WiMAX-based smart grid networks, and this morning we have news of a major commercial deployment from a utility Down Continue reading →
San Diego Gas & Electric is the latest utility to look to WiMax as a piece of its smart grid plans. SDG&E will look to use the open standard, high-speed wireless technology as part of a larger-scale project that it’s asking the Department of Energy to support with $30 million in smart grid stimulus funds, Continue reading →
