utility.net Announces Commercial Broadband Rollout in Michigan with Potential to Reach One Million Customers in Coming Years:
04.30.07, 7:02 AM ET
First Phase Deployment to 10,000 Homes in and Around the City of Grand Ledge, West of Michigan's Capital, Lansing LOS ANGELES, April 30 /PRNewswire/ -- utility.net, a Los Angeles, CA based Broadband over Power Line (BPL) network provider (www.utility.net) , in cooperation with Consumers Energy (www.consumersenergy.com), which provides electric or natural gas service to 6.5 million of Michigan's 10 million residents, announces the next phase of a project to deploy Broadband-over- power lines (BPL) commercially in central Michigan.
In 2006, Consumers Energy and the Shpigler Group engaged in delivering a proof of concept of BPL system. utility.net will now move forward with implementing a fully functional BPL production system. utility.net will initially deploy its BPL network to 10,000 homes in and around the city of Grand Ledge, west of Michigan's capital, Lansing. Once this initial phase is completed, scheduled to be operational by end of 2007, Consumers Energy will grant to utility.net additional service areas in blocks of 100,000 customers. utility.net intends to roll out its BPL network to eventually reach one million Michigan customers over the next several years.
"We are very pleased that utility.net has been given the rights to move forward with the next phase and intends to bring broadband to communities in central Michigan that have few or no broadband provider choices today. utility.net's technology is designed to reach both rural and urban areas, but it is the rural areas in our service territory that have the most to gain. We are pleased to see our existing infrastructure being utilized to provide additional choices and options for broadband internet access," said Gerry Wyse, Consumers Energy's Project Manager.
utility.net and its ISP partners will be offering three different levels of high speed Internet service in central Michigan: 768 Kbps symmetrical, 1.5 Mbps symmetrical and 3.0 Mbps symmetrical. Most broadband services available to customers today are asymmetrical services featuring upload speeds that are much slower than download speeds and are marketed as "up to" speeds. utility.net's symmetrical service provides upload speeds that are just as fast as its download speeds and both are expected to be at or near the purchased service speeds 95% of the time. To customers this means that large files and files with pictures and other graphics will be sent much more quickly, internet chats that include video will be much more responsive, VPN connections and hosted websites will be better performing and Internet gaming will be more enjoyable.
"We are excited about deploying our proven broadband technology offering these more robust service options to CE customers in central Michigan. We are very confident that the communities to which we are bringing our service will be very pleased with the results", added David Flaxman, VP of Business Development for utility.net.
utility.net has a business strategy aimed at deploying broadband networks into rural and other areas that are either unserved (no broadband providers) or underserved (only 1 broadband provider choice) by traditional broadband providers. This strategy enables Consumers Energy, and other large energy companies, to enter into a landlord relationship with utility.net. utility.net assumes full responsibility for the network and the business model. In addition, utility.net partners with one or more Internet Service Providers (ISP) who manage the relationship with the end customer.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Remember Northeast Blackout of 2003: Losses estimated at $6 billion USD !!!!
2003 New York City blackout !!!!
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Northeast Blackout of 2003 was a massive power outage that occurred throughout parts of the northeastern United States and Ontario on Thursday, August 14, 2003. Although not affecting as many people as the later 2003 Italy blackout, it was the largest blackout in North American history. It affected an estimated 10 million people in the province of Ontario (about one-third of the population of Canada), and 40 million people in eight U.S. states (about one-seventh of the population of the U.S.). Outage-related financial losses were estimated at $6 billion USD ($6.8 billion CDN).
Thursday, April 26, 2007
DS2 showcases world's widest range of 200Mbps Powerline applications
DS2, the world's leading Powerline Chipset provider, has staged a demonstration of the broadest range of powerline application.
DMN Newswire--2007-4-26--DS2, the world's leading Powerline Chipset provider, has staged a demonstration of the broadest range of powerline applications available to enable home users to interlink their home media devices through their house's electrical circuits. They were demonstrated by DS2 and partners Comtrend Corinex Communications and Netgear at the 'Connecting the Digital Home' Event in London. They allow video, data and music files to be shared throughout the home and give easy Internet-connectivity to IPTV broadband television services as well as to PS3, Xbox360 and other online gaming platforms.
'Connecting the Digital Home' demonstrates next generation Powerline applications powered by DS2 chipset
All UPA accredited suppliers supports IPTV rollout
DS2 joins lobby for proliferation of next generation broadband
All powerline products previewed carry the Universal Powerline Association 'UPA Plugtested' official seal of quality, and are powered by the DS2 chipset, the only 200Mbps chip being shipped globally into consumer applications. Already leading European operators use UPA technology to deliver IPTV services - which can easily be self-installed - to their customers.
"Recent research has highlighted the dramatic growth in IPTV applications, predicted to grow globally to 100 million by 20111," explained DS2's Director of Strategy & Standardisation, Victor Dominguez. "In the UK in particular, growth in these next generation applications has triggered organisations such as the Broadband Stakeholders Group (BSG)2 to demand the government and ISP's alike to develop the necessary broadband infrastructure."
The speed and quality of the DS2 200 Mbps chip ensures perfect Flicker-Free streaming of High Definition (HD) video files and Internet connectivity for voice and gaming applications with zero latency throughout the home network. UPA technology also enables service operators to deliver networking to support IPTV offerings.
"As consumers continue to add digital applications to their households, the demand for an easy, non-costly and effective way to create inter-connectivity grows. We hosted this event in London to give a preview of the applications that are available now and in the future, and also to add our voice to the lobby for ISPs to prepare for the demands that will be placed on their services in the future," Victor Dominguez continued.
The 'UPA Plugtested' seal ensures products adhere to strict quality and capability guidelines and is designed to protect consumers. Primary UPA-certified vendors include Comtrend, Corinex Communications, Schneider Electric, Conceptronic, Toyo Networks, Telsey, Pirelli, D-Link and Netgear, which produce Powerline applications on a global basis.
1 - Research conducted Suppli Corp - April 2007
2 - In the "Pipe Dreams?" Report - April 2007
Source: Broadcast Newsroom
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Embrace efficiency, one watt at a time, as nation's 'fifth fuel'
Sunday, April 22, 2007
By the year 2030, demand for electricity in the United States is expected to grow by approximately 40 percent, according to U.S. Department of Energy forecasts. To meet that need, plans to develop new nuclear and advanced cleaner-coal power plants and to retire older, less efficient coal plants, are under way at utilities throughout the nation.
But there is another path that can help us achieve our country's goal of reliable, affordable and clean energy for all - energy efficiency. As the "fifth fuel," it can be as useful in meeting our growing energy needs as are the traditional generation sources of coal, nuclear, natural gas or renewable energy.
'SAVE-A-WATTS' CONCEPT
Ensuring that saving energy is as important a "fuel" as generating power will mean a reinvention of the traditional utility. "Save-a-watts," unlike kilowatts, can only be envisioned as a fuel if we are committed to change.
What if utilities offered access to energy efficiency services to all customers universally, allowing them to take charge of their electric bills and empower them to help reduce the overall environmental footprint of the utility?
A business approach to energy efficiency would make that vision possible. Utilities have traditionally been rewarded for selling more energy not less. We need a future that puts investments in energy efficiency on an equal footing with new generation investments, so that a utility is able to achieve the same earnings when they make energy or save energy.
Developing and implementing this new regulatory paradigm will largely be decided by state regulators, who supervise retail electricity markets in the U.S. But creating the momentum necessary to get the job done will come from many sectors of society.
Electric utilities have the expertise - and a responsibility as well - to lead the kind of change needed to make efficiency an important part of the energy mix.
Technology to transform our electric transmission and distribution system into a digital communications network, is available but must be deployed. With it, the industry could transform the delivery of electricity in the same way that today's cell phones transformed telecommunications from rotary dial phones.
When the electric delivery system is combined with "smart" meters and energy sensing devices, customers will gain efficiency without giving up comfort and convenience. Energy efficiency would be as automatic as flipping a switch.
A 21ST CENTURY VISION
Imagine energy efficiency being the default service offer for all customers. Customers could choose to actively manage their energy usage by using power during "off peak" periods when power is cheaper or stay with a default offer.
In all cases, utilities could glean useful data from the transmission and distribution system, providing ways to measure and verify the results of energy efficiency initiatives.
In the year 2000, the National Academy of Engineering chose the electrification of America and the developed world as the greatest engineering achievement of the 20th century - ahead of air and space flight, television, the computer and the Internet.
We believe that turning the electric grid into a vast communications and energy efficiency network - one that can create save-a-watts - could very well be one of the greatest advancements of the 21st century.
U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor is a Democrat from Arkansas. Jim Rogers is president and CEO of Duke Energy. They are co-chairs of the Alliance to Save Energy.
By the year 2030, demand for electricity in the United States is expected to grow by approximately 40 percent, according to U.S. Department of Energy forecasts. To meet that need, plans to develop new nuclear and advanced cleaner-coal power plants and to retire older, less efficient coal plants, are under way at utilities throughout the nation.
But there is another path that can help us achieve our country's goal of reliable, affordable and clean energy for all - energy efficiency. As the "fifth fuel," it can be as useful in meeting our growing energy needs as are the traditional generation sources of coal, nuclear, natural gas or renewable energy.
'SAVE-A-WATTS' CONCEPT
Ensuring that saving energy is as important a "fuel" as generating power will mean a reinvention of the traditional utility. "Save-a-watts," unlike kilowatts, can only be envisioned as a fuel if we are committed to change.
What if utilities offered access to energy efficiency services to all customers universally, allowing them to take charge of their electric bills and empower them to help reduce the overall environmental footprint of the utility?
A business approach to energy efficiency would make that vision possible. Utilities have traditionally been rewarded for selling more energy not less. We need a future that puts investments in energy efficiency on an equal footing with new generation investments, so that a utility is able to achieve the same earnings when they make energy or save energy.
Developing and implementing this new regulatory paradigm will largely be decided by state regulators, who supervise retail electricity markets in the U.S. But creating the momentum necessary to get the job done will come from many sectors of society.
Electric utilities have the expertise - and a responsibility as well - to lead the kind of change needed to make efficiency an important part of the energy mix.
Technology to transform our electric transmission and distribution system into a digital communications network, is available but must be deployed. With it, the industry could transform the delivery of electricity in the same way that today's cell phones transformed telecommunications from rotary dial phones.
When the electric delivery system is combined with "smart" meters and energy sensing devices, customers will gain efficiency without giving up comfort and convenience. Energy efficiency would be as automatic as flipping a switch.
A 21ST CENTURY VISION
Imagine energy efficiency being the default service offer for all customers. Customers could choose to actively manage their energy usage by using power during "off peak" periods when power is cheaper or stay with a default offer.
In all cases, utilities could glean useful data from the transmission and distribution system, providing ways to measure and verify the results of energy efficiency initiatives.
In the year 2000, the National Academy of Engineering chose the electrification of America and the developed world as the greatest engineering achievement of the 20th century - ahead of air and space flight, television, the computer and the Internet.
We believe that turning the electric grid into a vast communications and energy efficiency network - one that can create save-a-watts - could very well be one of the greatest advancements of the 21st century.
U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor is a Democrat from Arkansas. Jim Rogers is president and CEO of Duke Energy. They are co-chairs of the Alliance to Save Energy.
Monday, April 23, 2007
muNet and Corinex Communications partner to deliver integrated Broadband Over Powerline AMI Platform
Monday April 23, 6:00 am ET
LEXINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MU Net, Inc, the leading provider of IP and other standards-based Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) solutions, and Corinex Communications, the largest Powerline manufacturing company in the world have executed a partnership agreement on the development and co-marketing of an integrated AMI platform that is specifically designed for Plug-and-Play Broadband over Powerline networks. Under the terms of the agreement, muNet will integrate Corinex 200Mbps Powerline communication modules with it's existing WebGate IP Interface technology and together the companies will deliver the first commercially available Broadband over Powerline AMI platform.
"Executing this agreement follows our strong tradition of delivering best-in-class solutions to our customers and integration partners worldwide," noted Brian Donnelly, Vice President of Marketing & Business Development at Corinex. "Given the prominent roles that utility applications, specifically AMI, can play in the deployment of BPL technology, it was crucial that we align ourselves with an AMI partner to provide connectivity between Corinex BPL Access networks, the meter, and Corinex In-Home Powerline networks. muNet's established track record in the design and deployment of IP-based metering technologies is second to none."
As a result of this partnership, utilities will have access to meters with Powerline technology "under-the-glass" that will become individual nodes on their BPL network, enabling advanced metering applications such as remote disconnect/reconnect, on-demand reads and the ability to control devices inside the home for demand side management. The "BPL-enabled" meters will also act as repeaters in Corinex BPL Access networks to provide broadband services to homes and commercial customers. muNet's WebGate IP Interface meters are currently installed at a number of North American utilities deploying Corinex's BPL network technology. In addition to continuing integration and optimization of products for the North American utility market, the agreement also calls for the development of a metering platform suitable for international deployments.
Built around standards-based communications technologies including IP and 802.15.4/ZigBee, muNet's WebGate AMI technologies are specifically designed to enable utilities to leverage any multifunctional broadband communications infrastructure to effect advanced metering applications. "We are tremendously pleased to be partnering with Corinex in this effort and look forward to helping contribute to their already impressive and well rounded product portfolio." said Sean Doyle, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at muNet. "We believe this agreement reflects the potential that Broadband over Powerline possesses in AMI and intelligent grid deployments, as well the desire by utilities to implement standards-based advanced metering technologies."
The first BPL-enabled meter resulting from this partnership will be shown at the UTC 2007 in Austin, Texas, from May 6-9. Call Glenn Chiang at 604-909-4965 to make an appointment to see the live demo at the BPL application center showcase.
LEXINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MU Net, Inc, the leading provider of IP and other standards-based Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) solutions, and Corinex Communications, the largest Powerline manufacturing company in the world have executed a partnership agreement on the development and co-marketing of an integrated AMI platform that is specifically designed for Plug-and-Play Broadband over Powerline networks. Under the terms of the agreement, muNet will integrate Corinex 200Mbps Powerline communication modules with it's existing WebGate IP Interface technology and together the companies will deliver the first commercially available Broadband over Powerline AMI platform.
"Executing this agreement follows our strong tradition of delivering best-in-class solutions to our customers and integration partners worldwide," noted Brian Donnelly, Vice President of Marketing & Business Development at Corinex. "Given the prominent roles that utility applications, specifically AMI, can play in the deployment of BPL technology, it was crucial that we align ourselves with an AMI partner to provide connectivity between Corinex BPL Access networks, the meter, and Corinex In-Home Powerline networks. muNet's established track record in the design and deployment of IP-based metering technologies is second to none."
As a result of this partnership, utilities will have access to meters with Powerline technology "under-the-glass" that will become individual nodes on their BPL network, enabling advanced metering applications such as remote disconnect/reconnect, on-demand reads and the ability to control devices inside the home for demand side management. The "BPL-enabled" meters will also act as repeaters in Corinex BPL Access networks to provide broadband services to homes and commercial customers. muNet's WebGate IP Interface meters are currently installed at a number of North American utilities deploying Corinex's BPL network technology. In addition to continuing integration and optimization of products for the North American utility market, the agreement also calls for the development of a metering platform suitable for international deployments.
Built around standards-based communications technologies including IP and 802.15.4/ZigBee, muNet's WebGate AMI technologies are specifically designed to enable utilities to leverage any multifunctional broadband communications infrastructure to effect advanced metering applications. "We are tremendously pleased to be partnering with Corinex in this effort and look forward to helping contribute to their already impressive and well rounded product portfolio." said Sean Doyle, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at muNet. "We believe this agreement reflects the potential that Broadband over Powerline possesses in AMI and intelligent grid deployments, as well the desire by utilities to implement standards-based advanced metering technologies."
The first BPL-enabled meter resulting from this partnership will be shown at the UTC 2007 in Austin, Texas, from May 6-9. Call Glenn Chiang at 604-909-4965 to make an appointment to see the live demo at the BPL application center showcase.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Thailand: IPTV over Power Lines !!!!
Saturday April 21, 2007
Buddy in talks with power utilities
AIS-TOT venture growing too slowly
SRISAMORN PHOOSUPHANUSORN
Advanced Datanetwork Communications, the provider of the Buddy Internet protocol television (IPTV) service, is trying to revive stalled partnership talks with state electricity authorities to provide broadband service over power lines. ''The move is expected to turn the company's fortunes around and help us survive in the business,'' said an ADC executive who asked not to be named.
ADC is a joint venture between the cellular operator Advanced Info Service (AIS) and the state telecom enterprise TOT Plc. It has registered capital of 957 million baht, with AIS holding 51% and TOT 49%. Its main business is the Buddy Broadband internet service.
TOT recently announced a plan to take over the AIS stake amid reports of a lack of co-operation between the two partners.
Somprasong Boonyachai, the AIS executive chairman, said TOT had not informed him of any such proposal. He acknowledged that ADC had been growing much more slowly than expected but he declined to elaborate on the group's policy for digital broadband TV.
Mr Somprasong also said that AIS, as the market leader, in theory should set the pace for broadband TV development. However, in practice, he said the lack of infrastructure did not support mainstream consumer adoption at this time.
To stimulate the business, the source said ADC wanted to use the fibre-optic lines of the Metropolitan and Provincial electricity authorities to distribute advanced IPTV services to homes.
''The negotiations, if settled, are expected to revive our business after we have struggled to attract more customers,'' he said.
The executive said IPTV over power lines enables customers to simply plug in a set-top box to bring broadband into the home directly, with no need to install a new telephone line. The technology delivers data rates in excess of 200 Mbps to support multiple simultaneous video streams, voice and data services.
The electricity authorities would record an IPTV home's electricity consumption online and not through a meter.''Broadband power line technology is set to remake the IPTV business in the Thai market and boost the number of clients,'' he said.
The executive said that ADC expected to conclude an agreement with the MEA and PEA in the next few months. A trial of IPTV service would be introduced in selected housing estates by the end of this year.
He said IPTV could create a new chapter for digital home entertainment broadcasting services. However, he acknowledged that constraints on TOT's ''last-mile'' access network to homes, as well as the two different business cultures, had stunted the growth of ADC.
The source also said that TOT had refused to commit to its share of a capital increase of 300 million baht, expressing doubt about the viability of the investment. In addition, the state enterprise stopped allowing ADC to use its cooper wires for free, and now charges the company between 300 and 600 baht per line.
ADC charges customers 400 and 650 baht a month depending on the package they select. ''How we can pay the surcharge [for TOT lines] and survive in the business if TOT sets an unrealistic fee?'' the executive asked.
Since its launch in April 2005, ADC has signed up only 20,000 subscribers for Buddy Broadband, far short of its sales target of 120,000 for this year.
Buddy in talks with power utilities
AIS-TOT venture growing too slowly
SRISAMORN PHOOSUPHANUSORN
Advanced Datanetwork Communications, the provider of the Buddy Internet protocol television (IPTV) service, is trying to revive stalled partnership talks with state electricity authorities to provide broadband service over power lines. ''The move is expected to turn the company's fortunes around and help us survive in the business,'' said an ADC executive who asked not to be named.
ADC is a joint venture between the cellular operator Advanced Info Service (AIS) and the state telecom enterprise TOT Plc. It has registered capital of 957 million baht, with AIS holding 51% and TOT 49%. Its main business is the Buddy Broadband internet service.
TOT recently announced a plan to take over the AIS stake amid reports of a lack of co-operation between the two partners.
Somprasong Boonyachai, the AIS executive chairman, said TOT had not informed him of any such proposal. He acknowledged that ADC had been growing much more slowly than expected but he declined to elaborate on the group's policy for digital broadband TV.
Mr Somprasong also said that AIS, as the market leader, in theory should set the pace for broadband TV development. However, in practice, he said the lack of infrastructure did not support mainstream consumer adoption at this time.
To stimulate the business, the source said ADC wanted to use the fibre-optic lines of the Metropolitan and Provincial electricity authorities to distribute advanced IPTV services to homes.
''The negotiations, if settled, are expected to revive our business after we have struggled to attract more customers,'' he said.
The executive said IPTV over power lines enables customers to simply plug in a set-top box to bring broadband into the home directly, with no need to install a new telephone line. The technology delivers data rates in excess of 200 Mbps to support multiple simultaneous video streams, voice and data services.
The electricity authorities would record an IPTV home's electricity consumption online and not through a meter.''Broadband power line technology is set to remake the IPTV business in the Thai market and boost the number of clients,'' he said.
The executive said that ADC expected to conclude an agreement with the MEA and PEA in the next few months. A trial of IPTV service would be introduced in selected housing estates by the end of this year.
He said IPTV could create a new chapter for digital home entertainment broadcasting services. However, he acknowledged that constraints on TOT's ''last-mile'' access network to homes, as well as the two different business cultures, had stunted the growth of ADC.
The source also said that TOT had refused to commit to its share of a capital increase of 300 million baht, expressing doubt about the viability of the investment. In addition, the state enterprise stopped allowing ADC to use its cooper wires for free, and now charges the company between 300 and 600 baht per line.
ADC charges customers 400 and 650 baht a month depending on the package they select. ''How we can pay the surcharge [for TOT lines] and survive in the business if TOT sets an unrealistic fee?'' the executive asked.
Since its launch in April 2005, ADC has signed up only 20,000 subscribers for Buddy Broadband, far short of its sales target of 120,000 for this year.
Friday, April 20, 2007
IIS Communications, Inc. Delivers Next Generation Network Technology for Point-of-Sale, VoIP, and SmartEnergy
Applications for Floor & Decor Outlets of America
IIS Communications, Inc. deploys the Telkonet Powerline Communications (PLC) solution which provides a new level of flexibility on the retail sales floor. The Telkonet product is quick to install, extremely cost-effective, and can be easily implemented alongside existing Cat5 Ethernet installations. The solution allows for store personnel to easily relocate network connectivity to where it is needed; portable sales kiosks, digital signage, and SmartEnergy HVAC management are just some of the applications that can be enabled or enhanced using PLC technology.
Kennesaw, GA (PRWEB) April 19, 2007 -- IIS Communications, a leading edge technology solution provider, has been selected by Floor & Decor Outlets of America to provide a reconfigurable data networking solution to all of their new retail locations. The decision was made after the successful deployment of the Telkonet iWire System™ in their Kennesaw, Georgia location.
Floor & Decor is the revolutionary concept in the home improvement category that provides affordable access to the largest inventory of hard flooring products at the lowest prices. The company has currently 18 stores located throughout the U.S., and looks forward to opening an additional 7 stores in 2007.
The Telkonet iWire System, which uses powerline communications (PLC) technology, enables broadband networking by using a building's internal existing electrical wiring, turning electrical outlets into high-speed data ports. The system provides the broadband backbone for Floor & Decor's point-of-sale (POS) terminals and Voice over IP phones, giving them the flexibility to locate and easily move devices throughout the store at any power outlet.
Greg Goforth, Floor & Decor's Vice President of HR/IT, commented, "We needed to find a secure, reliable, cost effective way to network our POS and Kiosk terminals, and didn't want the expense or disruption from installing CAT5 cabling throughout the store. Also, with CAT5, our POS and Kiosk terminal locations would be limited to only where CAT5 was installed. We need the ability to move our POS and Kiosk terminals around to different locations within the store to support service to the customer. PLC solved all of these problems, and overcame security issues that are common with wireless systems. We look forward to rolling out the Telkonet iWire System to our future store locations and where needed retrofitting the solution into existing locations."
Steve Feldberg, President of IIS Communications, added, "The Telkonet solution is ideal for retailers, such as Floor & Decor. It is quick to install, extremely cost-effective, and inherently scalable by simply plugging in another Telkonet iBridge when you need an additional access point. The system also provides a broadband backbone that can support many other applications, such as Telkonet SmartEnergy (TSE) initiative which will enable centralized management of the HVAC environments in the stores with the goal of reducing overall energy consumption by 30%"
IIS Communications, Inc. deploys the Telkonet Powerline Communications (PLC) solution which provides a new level of flexibility on the retail sales floor. The Telkonet product is quick to install, extremely cost-effective, and can be easily implemented alongside existing Cat5 Ethernet installations. The solution allows for store personnel to easily relocate network connectivity to where it is needed; portable sales kiosks, digital signage, and SmartEnergy HVAC management are just some of the applications that can be enabled or enhanced using PLC technology.
Kennesaw, GA (PRWEB) April 19, 2007 -- IIS Communications, a leading edge technology solution provider, has been selected by Floor & Decor Outlets of America to provide a reconfigurable data networking solution to all of their new retail locations. The decision was made after the successful deployment of the Telkonet iWire System™ in their Kennesaw, Georgia location.
Floor & Decor is the revolutionary concept in the home improvement category that provides affordable access to the largest inventory of hard flooring products at the lowest prices. The company has currently 18 stores located throughout the U.S., and looks forward to opening an additional 7 stores in 2007.
The Telkonet iWire System, which uses powerline communications (PLC) technology, enables broadband networking by using a building's internal existing electrical wiring, turning electrical outlets into high-speed data ports. The system provides the broadband backbone for Floor & Decor's point-of-sale (POS) terminals and Voice over IP phones, giving them the flexibility to locate and easily move devices throughout the store at any power outlet.
Greg Goforth, Floor & Decor's Vice President of HR/IT, commented, "We needed to find a secure, reliable, cost effective way to network our POS and Kiosk terminals, and didn't want the expense or disruption from installing CAT5 cabling throughout the store. Also, with CAT5, our POS and Kiosk terminal locations would be limited to only where CAT5 was installed. We need the ability to move our POS and Kiosk terminals around to different locations within the store to support service to the customer. PLC solved all of these problems, and overcame security issues that are common with wireless systems. We look forward to rolling out the Telkonet iWire System to our future store locations and where needed retrofitting the solution into existing locations."
Steve Feldberg, President of IIS Communications, added, "The Telkonet solution is ideal for retailers, such as Floor & Decor. It is quick to install, extremely cost-effective, and inherently scalable by simply plugging in another Telkonet iBridge when you need an additional access point. The system also provides a broadband backbone that can support many other applications, such as Telkonet SmartEnergy (TSE) initiative which will enable centralized management of the HVAC environments in the stores with the goal of reducing overall energy consumption by 30%"
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Spidcom aims to bring Internet access over power lines in China
Spidcom in talks to power up Internet access
By Li Weitao (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-04-19 08:38
French chipmaker Spidcom Technologies is in talks with Chinese telecom operators to bring broadband Internet access over the power lines to Chinese households.
Company president Radomir Jovanovic is expecting deregulation of power line communications (PLC) in China due to increasing use of video on home networks.
PLC offers consumers an alternative to traditional ADSL (asymmetric digital subscriber line) technology for broadband Internet access. Users can plug a PLC modem into any electrical outlet to access the Web as PLC is overlaid on the electrical distribution system. That makes it convenient for home and SOHO (small office home office) users.
Chinese fixed-line telephone operators China Telecom and China Netcom have shown increasing interest in PLC technology, said Jovanovic, adding that it could boost deregulation of the technology.
"The IPTV (Internet protocol television) could offer a big opportunity (for the uptake of PLC)," he said.
China Telecom and China Netcom are aggressively promoting IPTV services, or high-definition TV over broadband, which they expect to become a significant revenue stream at a time when fixed-line telephone business is slowing down.
Unlike ADSL technology, the most used broadband Internet access by Chinese households, PLC can provide Internet access in every room as long as there is an electrical outlet.
"PLC can be very convenient for home networking," said Jovanovic, adding that PLC can enable home users to view IPTV in every room compared to the ADSL technology. Spidcom provides chips for PLC modem makers including some Chinese manufacturers.
An increasing number of Chinese consumers, which have more than one computer at home or need mobility, have established Wi-Fi networks at home. But IPTV needs a higher speed that Wi-Fi cannot deliver. PLC can provide enough bandwidth to send high quality video.
Jovanovic said China Telecom and China Netcom are seeking to adopt PLC as a complementary in-home network. Users can use ADSL for access in the living room and a PLC modem in other rooms.
Increasing interest from telecom operators might push the Ministry of Information Industry to lift a ban on the technology. Beijing Fibrlink, a company controlled by State Power, China's largest electricity firm, has been offering a PLC access trial in some areas of Beijing.
By Li Weitao (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-04-19 08:38
French chipmaker Spidcom Technologies is in talks with Chinese telecom operators to bring broadband Internet access over the power lines to Chinese households.
Company president Radomir Jovanovic is expecting deregulation of power line communications (PLC) in China due to increasing use of video on home networks.
PLC offers consumers an alternative to traditional ADSL (asymmetric digital subscriber line) technology for broadband Internet access. Users can plug a PLC modem into any electrical outlet to access the Web as PLC is overlaid on the electrical distribution system. That makes it convenient for home and SOHO (small office home office) users.
Chinese fixed-line telephone operators China Telecom and China Netcom have shown increasing interest in PLC technology, said Jovanovic, adding that it could boost deregulation of the technology.
"The IPTV (Internet protocol television) could offer a big opportunity (for the uptake of PLC)," he said.
China Telecom and China Netcom are aggressively promoting IPTV services, or high-definition TV over broadband, which they expect to become a significant revenue stream at a time when fixed-line telephone business is slowing down.
Unlike ADSL technology, the most used broadband Internet access by Chinese households, PLC can provide Internet access in every room as long as there is an electrical outlet.
"PLC can be very convenient for home networking," said Jovanovic, adding that PLC can enable home users to view IPTV in every room compared to the ADSL technology. Spidcom provides chips for PLC modem makers including some Chinese manufacturers.
An increasing number of Chinese consumers, which have more than one computer at home or need mobility, have established Wi-Fi networks at home. But IPTV needs a higher speed that Wi-Fi cannot deliver. PLC can provide enough bandwidth to send high quality video.
Jovanovic said China Telecom and China Netcom are seeking to adopt PLC as a complementary in-home network. Users can use ADSL for access in the living room and a PLC modem in other rooms.
Increasing interest from telecom operators might push the Ministry of Information Industry to lift a ban on the technology. Beijing Fibrlink, a company controlled by State Power, China's largest electricity firm, has been offering a PLC access trial in some areas of Beijing.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Ambient Introduces Real-Time Current and Voltage Sensing to Electrical Grids Via BPL Communications Platform
BusinessWire - April 18, 2007 8:30 AM ET
Ambient Corporation (OTCBB: ABTG), a leader in Broadband over Power Lines (BPL) solutions, announced today that it has significantly enhanced its suite of products by integrating two intelligent grid applications into its core BPL communications platform for use in both overhead and underground systems.
The current and voltage sensing applications, enabled by Ambient's core products, are extremely valuable to utilities. Ambient's energy sensing products further validate the benefits of building out a communications network, which allows a utility to have real-time visibility into its electrical grid. Achieving this without adding additional external equipment to the BPL communications platform represents a significant breakthrough in the market. Ambient's ability for providing sensing capabilities is a non-intrusive, easily implemented, and cost-effective solution which is highly beneficial to utilities.
Pioneering the use of BPL platforms for delivering Smart Grid capabilities is key to positioning Ambient as a leading innovator. Ambient provides enabling BPL technology to utilities for improving energy and operational efficiency, especially with an aging grid infrastructure.
John J. Joyce, President and CEO of Ambient stated, "Ambient has been committed to creating and integrating intelligent grid applications and products which meet the present and, more importantly, future needs of its customers. These solutions reflect our philosophy of delivering maximum benefit and flexibility to the utilities, while minimizing the complexity and costs. In an increasingly green energy industry, deploying next-generation, Smart Grid technology will play a major role in the efficient delivery of energy. Integrating this functionality into our customers' grids represents a significant milestone for both the industry and Ambient."
Real-time current sensing enables proactive instead of reactive management of distribution circuits, thereby increasing grid efficiency and reliability. This will allow the utility to not only know the operational status of a medium voltage circuit, but also know and monitor in real-time the amount of energy flowing through at any given point on the circuit.
Voltage sensing is useful for energy management, monitoring health and efficiency of transformers, and for identifying potentially problematic transformers enabling the utility to predict and prevent possible equipment failure. The voltage levels at the secondary side of the transformer can now be measured and reported continuously in real-time.
"We believe we have the first BPL system that enables such extensive and unique integration of key utility applications," stated Ram Rao, Chief Technology Officer at Ambient. "Ambient has always believed that utility applications are critical to the success of BPL systems and thus we have focused on the development of new products and applications in this area to benefit our utility partners, and future customers."
Smart sensing applications are increasingly important in reducing the environmental impact of line loss and in reducing the economic impact of outages and power disruption estimated to cost US businesses over $50 billion a year according to EPRI.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
New BPL blog milestone- reaching 44,000+ views today !!!
Keep reading and viewing folks ... updates is ongoing !!!
Thanks to all BPL fans !!!
Thanks to all BPL fans !!!
Trimax Corporation Signs LOI for Acquisition of Cybersonics Technologies Inc.
(Note: TMXO.OB up 62.16% to $0.30/share on news today !!!)
TORONTO -- (MARKET WIRE) -- April 17, 2007 -- Trimax Corporation (OTCBB: TMXO), providers of Broadband over Power Line (BPL) communication technologies which transform a building's electrical wiring and all electrical outlets into a high-speed broadband network, announced today that it has signed a letter of intent for the acquisition of Cybersonics Sound Technologies Inc. Trimax anticipates the acquisition to close within the next four weeks.
By acquiring Cybersonics, a revenue producing company, Trimax/PLC gains an experienced management and operations team with expertise developing international corporate broadcast networks and customized advertising for shopping centers, large retailers, auto dealerships and the hospitality industry. Cybersonics has over a decade of R&D expertise developing proprietary software and hardware communications technology for 'turn-key' web-based private broadcast networks.
Founded in 1994, Cybersonics is privately held with a unique and focused experience in corporate audio and visual communications. Cybersonics provides site-specific, customized, real-time content that enables marketers to brand, target and communicate more effectively with the public using fully integrated Point of Purchase and Multi-Media Marketing Systems. With over a decade of profitable business behind them, Cybersonics operates from its offices and digital studios in Mississauga, Ontario. Cybersonics works in partnership with its clients, from the design, manufacture and installation of systems through the creation, production, scheduling and distribution of media.
"By introducing Broadband over PowerLines as an internal distribution platform for Cybersonics' custom multi-media management solutions, we have created an evolutionary breakthrough in our ability to quickly and inexpensively install communication networks," said Jim Addario, founder and CEO of Cybersonics. "BPL connectivity allows us the ease, flexibility and option of installing components such as Digital Signage on an isolated network, separate from the main PoS and inventory systems if required. This can be accomplished in virtually any location that has an electrical circuit, eliminating the expense and disruption of running cable drops. By using BPL, a proven, innovative and scalable IP platform, to network real-time managed point-of-purchase marketing systems, Cybersonics achieves significant efficiencies and is better positioned to deliver rapid, low-cost, fully integrated marketing and communication networks to our existing clients and capitalize on many 'price sensitive' opportunities we have been cultivating," Addario added.
The digital signage industry has reached the stage in its evolution where marketers, retailers, government, entertainment and other public venue managers are starting to realize the impact and efficiencies that dynamic signage is having now and will have in the future, and they are quickly getting with the times. From its current level of $10.8 billion, Industry analysts expect the worldwide market for digital signage and professional displays will grow to $12.7 billion by 2010. (source: isuppli Corporation)
Derek Pepler, President and CEO of Trimax, stated, "We are very excited about the union of Trimax and Cybersonics. We have been working closely together since 2006 and realize the possibilities of being able to leverage each other's expertise, technology, resources and relationships to execute our joint strategic plan. The synergies of both company's technologies will combine to offer our clients a customized feature-rich, versatile, portable and cost-effective IP networked applications bundle. We offer one stop shopping for plug-and-play networked digital signage, media content management, internet connectivity, point-of-sale systems, VoIP telephones, surveillance cameras, kiosks, wireless access points, alarm systems, energy monitoring and meter reading systems that are customized across a number of industries. We look forward to delivering on the promise of this acquisition and building value for our shareholders."
TORONTO -- (MARKET WIRE) -- April 17, 2007 -- Trimax Corporation (OTCBB: TMXO), providers of Broadband over Power Line (BPL) communication technologies which transform a building's electrical wiring and all electrical outlets into a high-speed broadband network, announced today that it has signed a letter of intent for the acquisition of Cybersonics Sound Technologies Inc. Trimax anticipates the acquisition to close within the next four weeks.
By acquiring Cybersonics, a revenue producing company, Trimax/PLC gains an experienced management and operations team with expertise developing international corporate broadcast networks and customized advertising for shopping centers, large retailers, auto dealerships and the hospitality industry. Cybersonics has over a decade of R&D expertise developing proprietary software and hardware communications technology for 'turn-key' web-based private broadcast networks.
Founded in 1994, Cybersonics is privately held with a unique and focused experience in corporate audio and visual communications. Cybersonics provides site-specific, customized, real-time content that enables marketers to brand, target and communicate more effectively with the public using fully integrated Point of Purchase and Multi-Media Marketing Systems. With over a decade of profitable business behind them, Cybersonics operates from its offices and digital studios in Mississauga, Ontario. Cybersonics works in partnership with its clients, from the design, manufacture and installation of systems through the creation, production, scheduling and distribution of media.
"By introducing Broadband over PowerLines as an internal distribution platform for Cybersonics' custom multi-media management solutions, we have created an evolutionary breakthrough in our ability to quickly and inexpensively install communication networks," said Jim Addario, founder and CEO of Cybersonics. "BPL connectivity allows us the ease, flexibility and option of installing components such as Digital Signage on an isolated network, separate from the main PoS and inventory systems if required. This can be accomplished in virtually any location that has an electrical circuit, eliminating the expense and disruption of running cable drops. By using BPL, a proven, innovative and scalable IP platform, to network real-time managed point-of-purchase marketing systems, Cybersonics achieves significant efficiencies and is better positioned to deliver rapid, low-cost, fully integrated marketing and communication networks to our existing clients and capitalize on many 'price sensitive' opportunities we have been cultivating," Addario added.
The digital signage industry has reached the stage in its evolution where marketers, retailers, government, entertainment and other public venue managers are starting to realize the impact and efficiencies that dynamic signage is having now and will have in the future, and they are quickly getting with the times. From its current level of $10.8 billion, Industry analysts expect the worldwide market for digital signage and professional displays will grow to $12.7 billion by 2010. (source: isuppli Corporation)
Derek Pepler, President and CEO of Trimax, stated, "We are very excited about the union of Trimax and Cybersonics. We have been working closely together since 2006 and realize the possibilities of being able to leverage each other's expertise, technology, resources and relationships to execute our joint strategic plan. The synergies of both company's technologies will combine to offer our clients a customized feature-rich, versatile, portable and cost-effective IP networked applications bundle. We offer one stop shopping for plug-and-play networked digital signage, media content management, internet connectivity, point-of-sale systems, VoIP telephones, surveillance cameras, kiosks, wireless access points, alarm systems, energy monitoring and meter reading systems that are customized across a number of industries. We look forward to delivering on the promise of this acquisition and building value for our shareholders."
Monday, April 16, 2007
Manila, Philippines: Power lines link town to Internet !!!
Monday, April 16, 2007
The fast-growing town of Balanga in Bataan, which prides itself as the first fully energized locality down to the barangays, will soon become the first fully wired area in the Philippines.
This was disclosed by Ty Javellana, Nextream president and chief executive, whose company along with Peninsula Electric Cooperative and Canadian manufacturing firm Corinex, successfully pilot-tested within a 15-km. radius the broadband over power lines technology using electric cables to connect a computer or TV to the Internet.
Nextream said the broadband over power lines technology also enables high-tech connection such as wireless networking, voice over Internet protocol and video streaming.
“Because the word is now out about the recent successful pilot-testing in Bataan that proves that BPL really works, Nextream has generated serious interest from very prominent Filipinos about investing in the Philippine operations,” Javellana said.”
‘‘I am confident that my growing technical team can design, implement, and maintain a BPL network in the Philippines and other foreign locales.”
Witnessing the pilot-testing were representatives from 10 electric cooperatives coming from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao which also had undergone second level technical training to enable them to understand the technology whose target market is the electric subscribers in the rural areas.
The first batch of trainees include the Misamis Oriental I Electric Cooperative Inc.; Cagayan II Electric Cooperative Inc.; Batangas I Electric Cooperative Inc.; Central Pangasinan Electric Cooperative Inc.; Tarlac II Electric Cooperative Inc.; Antique Electric Cooperative Inc.; Bohol I Electric Cooperatives Inc.; Negros Occidental Electric Cooperative Inc.; and Oriental Mindoro Electric Cooperatives Inc.
Javellana said that the intensive training conducted in Bataan for seven days involves classroom discussions and field demonstrations, which enabled the participants to gain proper knowledge of the product.
“Slowly, our efforts to market the BPL in the countryside are gaining ground. Initially, we enlisted 10 co-ops in the BPL training and many others have expressed interest to be trained in the coming months,” Javellana said.
The next training will be conducted in Cagayan to be hosted by the Cagayan Electric Cooperative, said Javellana, who takes pride in his Iloilo roots.
Javellana said that Nextream has 28 active joint venture agreements with electric cooperatives in the Philippines and another 12 new cooperatives from the Visayas and Mindanao islands are to set to sign up with the outfit.
“My focus is to have Nextream’s Philippines operations be the cornerstone of a global broadband communications in Southeast Asia and other emerging markets with low Internet penetration. At least for now, the good news about the successful BPL pilot-testing in Bataan has caught fire among BPL users worldwide and it is proof positive what Filipino talent and ingenuity can do with 21st century technology,” said Javellana.
Read previous articles: Philippines to rollout of BROADBAND Internet over ELECTRIC POWER LINES Nationwide !!!!
The fast-growing town of Balanga in Bataan, which prides itself as the first fully energized locality down to the barangays, will soon become the first fully wired area in the Philippines.
This was disclosed by Ty Javellana, Nextream president and chief executive, whose company along with Peninsula Electric Cooperative and Canadian manufacturing firm Corinex, successfully pilot-tested within a 15-km. radius the broadband over power lines technology using electric cables to connect a computer or TV to the Internet.
Nextream said the broadband over power lines technology also enables high-tech connection such as wireless networking, voice over Internet protocol and video streaming.
“Because the word is now out about the recent successful pilot-testing in Bataan that proves that BPL really works, Nextream has generated serious interest from very prominent Filipinos about investing in the Philippine operations,” Javellana said.”
‘‘I am confident that my growing technical team can design, implement, and maintain a BPL network in the Philippines and other foreign locales.”
Witnessing the pilot-testing were representatives from 10 electric cooperatives coming from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao which also had undergone second level technical training to enable them to understand the technology whose target market is the electric subscribers in the rural areas.
The first batch of trainees include the Misamis Oriental I Electric Cooperative Inc.; Cagayan II Electric Cooperative Inc.; Batangas I Electric Cooperative Inc.; Central Pangasinan Electric Cooperative Inc.; Tarlac II Electric Cooperative Inc.; Antique Electric Cooperative Inc.; Bohol I Electric Cooperatives Inc.; Negros Occidental Electric Cooperative Inc.; and Oriental Mindoro Electric Cooperatives Inc.
Javellana said that the intensive training conducted in Bataan for seven days involves classroom discussions and field demonstrations, which enabled the participants to gain proper knowledge of the product.
“Slowly, our efforts to market the BPL in the countryside are gaining ground. Initially, we enlisted 10 co-ops in the BPL training and many others have expressed interest to be trained in the coming months,” Javellana said.
The next training will be conducted in Cagayan to be hosted by the Cagayan Electric Cooperative, said Javellana, who takes pride in his Iloilo roots.
Javellana said that Nextream has 28 active joint venture agreements with electric cooperatives in the Philippines and another 12 new cooperatives from the Visayas and Mindanao islands are to set to sign up with the outfit.
“My focus is to have Nextream’s Philippines operations be the cornerstone of a global broadband communications in Southeast Asia and other emerging markets with low Internet penetration. At least for now, the good news about the successful BPL pilot-testing in Bataan has caught fire among BPL users worldwide and it is proof positive what Filipino talent and ingenuity can do with 21st century technology,” said Javellana.
Read previous articles: Philippines to rollout of BROADBAND Internet over ELECTRIC POWER LINES Nationwide !!!!
Powered Up: How One High-tech Startup Plans to Electrify the Marketplace
Published: April 11, 2007 in Knowledge@Wharton
This article has been read 5,107 Times
Like many ambitious high-tech startup companies, Current Communications Group begins with an idea that is both technically advanced and yet brilliant in its simplicity: Why not offer customers broadband Internet access over wires that every home already has -- its electric grid.
And yet, also like most technology companies, that simple idea has to clear a lot of complex hurdles -- in this case, an already highly competitive and advanced marketplace for high-speed web connections, an uncertain regulatory environment and, most critically, the conservative, risk-averse nature of the big electric utilities the company must partner with.
But Current -- which was represented at the recent Wharton Technology Conference 2007 by vice president J. Brendan Herron Jr., and two key investors -- may have found the solution for breaking out of that box, and it could come from an unlikely source: rising concern about man-made global warming.
That's because in addition to its main feature -- BPL (broadband over power line) Internet service -- Current's technology also provides utilities with a service called Smart Grid, which uses a high-tech system of sensors to closely monitor both electric use and occasional outages, thus providing a huge savings in the need for new generating capacity.
As Herron told the audience during a panel discussion titled, "New Tech Startup: The Challenges and Opportunities of Successfully Growing a New Tech Company," the twin realizations that power plants are the source of some 40% of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, and that growth in electric demand continues to outpace the arrival of new supplies, have forced the big utilities to take notice. "They are faced with a dilemma: 'What do we do as demand grows and supply doesn't? The alternatives are: We try to build more plants in an uncertain environment, we take brownouts at a huge cost to the economy, or we use a Smart Grid to help facilities better manage the efficiency in the load.'"
The result is that the startup, based in Germantown, Md., has been able to attract some $130 million in venture capital -- from backers such as Google, General Electric, Goldman Sachs and a couple of utility companies -- and establish a small but growing record of attracting new customers in markets like Ohio and in Texas, where Current has a promising alliance with innovative electric utility TXU (recently bought by private equity firms Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Company and the Texas Pacific Group, in a deal valued at $45 billion).
That's the good news. The potential bad news for Current is that other speakers and panelists at Wharton's annual technology event seemed to unintentionally lay out the huge hurdles that Current will face in gaining Internet customers, as the dominant industry players -- the cable and telecom companies -- continue to win millions of new customers through elaborate bundling of services.
Indeed, at another panel later in the day -- "Telecommunications: Convergence: Redefining Boundaries in the New Telecom Era" -- executives from leading players such as Verizon, Time Warner Cable, Visage Mobile and Cisco never once mentioned BPL technology in a wide-ranging, 75-minute discussion of the ways that cable, phone, Internet and mobile services are increasingly bundled and already luring millions of potential subscribers.
That mountain standing in the way did not seem to scare off Herron, who is Current's vice president for corporate development & strategy, nor co-panelists Richard Goldstein, a managing director of key investor Liberty Associated Partners who has also become a vice president of Current, and Scott Ungerer, a co-founder and managing partner of EnerTech, the firm that pioneered venture capital for new tech solutions in the energy industry.
A Winning Combination
The participants agreed that the involvement of major investor EnerTech has been critical to the growth of Current, because Ungerer's firm has a unique ability to interest electric utilities -- one of the most stable and non-innovative industries in America -- to look more closely at what the startup is offering. "A great idea is simply the price of admission," Ungerer told the panelists, noting that the big utilities look at the quality of the management team and the other investors, and also at whether a new type of technology can create real monetary value. He said that in the case of Current, its ability to team up with experienced industry hands has been essential for attracting investors.
"The hardest thing to do is learn from other people's experience," said Ungerer, who has seen startup companies focus too often on their idea and not on building alliances, sometimes with disastrous results.
In the case of Current, it's clear that a mid-course correction in its strategy has also helped considerably. Goldstein, from Liberty Associated Partners, said his firm played an active role in creating Current at the start of the decade, as Liberty looked for the next new thing after some successful investments in cable and other communications-related ventures. "The best wire that exists in the world is the power company's -- because it's so pervasive," Goldstein said.
Indeed, Current sees several advantages to the consumer with BPL Internet access, which is competitive with high-speed cable and telecom DSL lines when it comes to price. One is plug-and-play Internet access, in which computer users can tap into broadband with a simple modem that also makes wi-fi unnecessary, since every room has electrical outlets. Also, Herron noted that the system allows users to send out large files, such as PowerPoint presentations, just as easily as downloading them -- a capability other types of broadband do not have.
That said, Herron and the Current investors readily acknowledged that the later development of the Smart Grid features, and the improved metering and power-flow regulation ability that comes with them, were what made Current more attractive to utilities that just weren't initially excited by broadband. "When the power goes out now, the only way an electric utility knows that is if somebody picks up the phone and calls," pointed out Herron, who said utilities proved more receptive to the energy-saving benefits of the program than to offering web access. Current, he added, believes that smart-grid technology can reduce overall electrical demand by some 5% to 10%, and that, in turn, could make as much as $125 billion in new plant construction costs unnecessary.
As a result, Current is finally seeing some hard results. This month, Current and its Texas partner, TXU Electric Delivery, began installing the first of some 300,000 new high-tech meters in the Dallas-Ft. Worth metroplex, which will allow the utility to offer time-of-day electric pricing while phasing out its workforce of meter readers. As for its broadband service, Herron said the company has attracted about 10% of potential customers in the Cincinnati market where Smart Grid is in place, which translates to roughly 5,000 homes.
The problem, of course, is that for broadband, Current is seeking to enter a wildly competitive marketplace, as was made clear at a separate conference forum on the telecommunications industry. There, executives from top cable and telecom systems insisted that the future lies in connectivity, but in ways that seem to go well beyond BPL, at least in the number of services offered.
Losing Sight of the Customer?
The telecom leaders, including Verizon's vice president of video network services, Nicola Palmer, and Richard Cho, director of voice product management for Time Warner Cable, both spoke of their aggressive efforts to bundle services with "Triple Play"-style combinations of television, voice and high-speed Internet, with mobile phones also ready to join the mix.
But moderator Martin Kon -- the head of media, entertainment and customer analytics for Mercer Management Consulting -- noted that getting to this point was not so easy. A number of similar bundling efforts in the 1990s crashed after tens of millions of dollars were spent to land a handful of customers, such as an initial $100 million flop by Time Warner. The picture improved when the technology for connecting to home and business users became more advanced and also more cost effective.
"Our ability to bring that pipe into your home is cheaper than it was yesterday," said Kon, who noted that just a few years ago, technology companies like Microsoft were complaining that homes didn't have enough broadband capacity to handle all their apps, while today the broadband providers are begging companies like Microsoft for new apps to match their expanded access.
One of the biggest problems for the fast-growing telecom industry, the panelists agreed, is that with the focus on adding so many new features and technology, it's easy to lose sight of the customer's actual needs. Said Ed Paradise, the vice president of Cisco who deals with the mobile wireless and broadband industries: "People just want to be able to do what they want. It's very simple."
For more than an hour, the telecom executives outlined some of the ways that they plan to meet those needs, with enhanced Internet capabilities over mobile phones, for example, or greater use of devices like Slingbox, which lets customers watch their home television programming on any device that's hooked up to a broadband connection by using routers and software to redirect cable or satellite TV signals over the Internet.
On the one hand, it may sound extremely difficult for a new player like Current and its BPL technology to cut through all that clutter, but the telecom executives also found substantial room for any type of improvement. Said Time Warner's Cho: "Are we fully connected yet? No, not when I go home and my phone rings and I can't find it."
This article has been read 5,107 Times
Like many ambitious high-tech startup companies, Current Communications Group begins with an idea that is both technically advanced and yet brilliant in its simplicity: Why not offer customers broadband Internet access over wires that every home already has -- its electric grid.
And yet, also like most technology companies, that simple idea has to clear a lot of complex hurdles -- in this case, an already highly competitive and advanced marketplace for high-speed web connections, an uncertain regulatory environment and, most critically, the conservative, risk-averse nature of the big electric utilities the company must partner with.
But Current -- which was represented at the recent Wharton Technology Conference 2007 by vice president J. Brendan Herron Jr., and two key investors -- may have found the solution for breaking out of that box, and it could come from an unlikely source: rising concern about man-made global warming.
That's because in addition to its main feature -- BPL (broadband over power line) Internet service -- Current's technology also provides utilities with a service called Smart Grid, which uses a high-tech system of sensors to closely monitor both electric use and occasional outages, thus providing a huge savings in the need for new generating capacity.
As Herron told the audience during a panel discussion titled, "New Tech Startup: The Challenges and Opportunities of Successfully Growing a New Tech Company," the twin realizations that power plants are the source of some 40% of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, and that growth in electric demand continues to outpace the arrival of new supplies, have forced the big utilities to take notice. "They are faced with a dilemma: 'What do we do as demand grows and supply doesn't? The alternatives are: We try to build more plants in an uncertain environment, we take brownouts at a huge cost to the economy, or we use a Smart Grid to help facilities better manage the efficiency in the load.'"
The result is that the startup, based in Germantown, Md., has been able to attract some $130 million in venture capital -- from backers such as Google, General Electric, Goldman Sachs and a couple of utility companies -- and establish a small but growing record of attracting new customers in markets like Ohio and in Texas, where Current has a promising alliance with innovative electric utility TXU (recently bought by private equity firms Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Company and the Texas Pacific Group, in a deal valued at $45 billion).
That's the good news. The potential bad news for Current is that other speakers and panelists at Wharton's annual technology event seemed to unintentionally lay out the huge hurdles that Current will face in gaining Internet customers, as the dominant industry players -- the cable and telecom companies -- continue to win millions of new customers through elaborate bundling of services.
Indeed, at another panel later in the day -- "Telecommunications: Convergence: Redefining Boundaries in the New Telecom Era" -- executives from leading players such as Verizon, Time Warner Cable, Visage Mobile and Cisco never once mentioned BPL technology in a wide-ranging, 75-minute discussion of the ways that cable, phone, Internet and mobile services are increasingly bundled and already luring millions of potential subscribers.
That mountain standing in the way did not seem to scare off Herron, who is Current's vice president for corporate development & strategy, nor co-panelists Richard Goldstein, a managing director of key investor Liberty Associated Partners who has also become a vice president of Current, and Scott Ungerer, a co-founder and managing partner of EnerTech, the firm that pioneered venture capital for new tech solutions in the energy industry.
A Winning Combination
The participants agreed that the involvement of major investor EnerTech has been critical to the growth of Current, because Ungerer's firm has a unique ability to interest electric utilities -- one of the most stable and non-innovative industries in America -- to look more closely at what the startup is offering. "A great idea is simply the price of admission," Ungerer told the panelists, noting that the big utilities look at the quality of the management team and the other investors, and also at whether a new type of technology can create real monetary value. He said that in the case of Current, its ability to team up with experienced industry hands has been essential for attracting investors.
"The hardest thing to do is learn from other people's experience," said Ungerer, who has seen startup companies focus too often on their idea and not on building alliances, sometimes with disastrous results.
In the case of Current, it's clear that a mid-course correction in its strategy has also helped considerably. Goldstein, from Liberty Associated Partners, said his firm played an active role in creating Current at the start of the decade, as Liberty looked for the next new thing after some successful investments in cable and other communications-related ventures. "The best wire that exists in the world is the power company's -- because it's so pervasive," Goldstein said.
Indeed, Current sees several advantages to the consumer with BPL Internet access, which is competitive with high-speed cable and telecom DSL lines when it comes to price. One is plug-and-play Internet access, in which computer users can tap into broadband with a simple modem that also makes wi-fi unnecessary, since every room has electrical outlets. Also, Herron noted that the system allows users to send out large files, such as PowerPoint presentations, just as easily as downloading them -- a capability other types of broadband do not have.
That said, Herron and the Current investors readily acknowledged that the later development of the Smart Grid features, and the improved metering and power-flow regulation ability that comes with them, were what made Current more attractive to utilities that just weren't initially excited by broadband. "When the power goes out now, the only way an electric utility knows that is if somebody picks up the phone and calls," pointed out Herron, who said utilities proved more receptive to the energy-saving benefits of the program than to offering web access. Current, he added, believes that smart-grid technology can reduce overall electrical demand by some 5% to 10%, and that, in turn, could make as much as $125 billion in new plant construction costs unnecessary.
As a result, Current is finally seeing some hard results. This month, Current and its Texas partner, TXU Electric Delivery, began installing the first of some 300,000 new high-tech meters in the Dallas-Ft. Worth metroplex, which will allow the utility to offer time-of-day electric pricing while phasing out its workforce of meter readers. As for its broadband service, Herron said the company has attracted about 10% of potential customers in the Cincinnati market where Smart Grid is in place, which translates to roughly 5,000 homes.
The problem, of course, is that for broadband, Current is seeking to enter a wildly competitive marketplace, as was made clear at a separate conference forum on the telecommunications industry. There, executives from top cable and telecom systems insisted that the future lies in connectivity, but in ways that seem to go well beyond BPL, at least in the number of services offered.
Losing Sight of the Customer?
The telecom leaders, including Verizon's vice president of video network services, Nicola Palmer, and Richard Cho, director of voice product management for Time Warner Cable, both spoke of their aggressive efforts to bundle services with "Triple Play"-style combinations of television, voice and high-speed Internet, with mobile phones also ready to join the mix.
But moderator Martin Kon -- the head of media, entertainment and customer analytics for Mercer Management Consulting -- noted that getting to this point was not so easy. A number of similar bundling efforts in the 1990s crashed after tens of millions of dollars were spent to land a handful of customers, such as an initial $100 million flop by Time Warner. The picture improved when the technology for connecting to home and business users became more advanced and also more cost effective.
"Our ability to bring that pipe into your home is cheaper than it was yesterday," said Kon, who noted that just a few years ago, technology companies like Microsoft were complaining that homes didn't have enough broadband capacity to handle all their apps, while today the broadband providers are begging companies like Microsoft for new apps to match their expanded access.
One of the biggest problems for the fast-growing telecom industry, the panelists agreed, is that with the focus on adding so many new features and technology, it's easy to lose sight of the customer's actual needs. Said Ed Paradise, the vice president of Cisco who deals with the mobile wireless and broadband industries: "People just want to be able to do what they want. It's very simple."
For more than an hour, the telecom executives outlined some of the ways that they plan to meet those needs, with enhanced Internet capabilities over mobile phones, for example, or greater use of devices like Slingbox, which lets customers watch their home television programming on any device that's hooked up to a broadband connection by using routers and software to redirect cable or satellite TV signals over the Internet.
On the one hand, it may sound extremely difficult for a new player like Current and its BPL technology to cut through all that clutter, but the telecom executives also found substantial room for any type of improvement. Said Time Warner's Cho: "Are we fully connected yet? No, not when I go home and my phone rings and I can't find it."
Provincial Electricity Authority of Thailand and ECB Deploy Corinex Communications Powerline Solution
Provincial Electricity Authority of Thailand and ECB Deploy Corinex Communications Powerline Solution
04.16.07, 6:02 AM ET
The Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) of Thailand has completed the first phase of its province-wide Internet and VoIP over Powerlines deployment, passing selected homes and offices. E-Commerce Business (ECB), the local integration partner specializing in Broadband over Powerline (BPL) technology and project management, chose Corinex Communications Medium and Low Voltage Powerline equipment to form the communications backbone for the PEA Internet service.
Phase 1 of the PEA project delivered broadband service to commercial customers in Pathum Thani, a province with a population of 1.5 million, in addition to providing residential broadband service to a rural area 2 km away. The service delivers over 25 Mbps over the Medium and Low Voltage lines and has been running steady for over 2 months. The phase 2 expansion of the project, which will pass over government offices, residential homes, and commercial offices will begin in late spring and will add Smart Grid applications such as ECB's Automatic Meter Reading solution to the Corinex network.
"We have conducted the Trial Project with ECB who teamed up with Corinex to deliver the Internet backbone as they demonstrated the capabilities in advanced Powerline technology," stated Jirasak Tongtar, PEA Director of ICT Business Development. "Now that we have seen the pilot project deliver an effective and stable network, we plan to implement this technology on our power grids for our class 3 license telecommunication services."
On March 26, 2007, PEA became one of very few companies in Asia that have been granted a license from the Thailand regulator to operate full telecommunication services. PEA has received Class 3 Telecom License from National Telecommunication (NTC) who regulate all telecommunication activities in Thailand. PEA plans to offer BPL services including Internet service, VoIP, and content through its 16,000 Kilometer power grid across the country in 73 Provinces, with a combined population of over 50 million people, as early as this year.
"ECB has invested significant resources to develop the expertise necessary to deploy large scale Powerline networks on MV and LV lines, the trend in Powerline is coming to Asia, and in Thailand we have positioned ECB for this exciting opportunity and we are now ready to team up with partners or investors," said Pattanapong Chanhom, V.P. Business Development, ECB. "We are ecstatic with the cooperation from PEA and the support and performance from Corinex and Corinex Powerline networks."
"ECB and PEA are leading Asia with their advanced network and aggressive deployment plans for Powerline technology," said Brian Donnelly, Corinex Communications VP of Marketing and Business Development. "ECB, a Corinex Competency Center in Bangkok, Thailand, has demonstrated that with careful planning and support, Broadband over Powerline networks are feasible and can deliver a strong ROI."
04.16.07, 6:02 AM ET
The Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) of Thailand has completed the first phase of its province-wide Internet and VoIP over Powerlines deployment, passing selected homes and offices. E-Commerce Business (ECB), the local integration partner specializing in Broadband over Powerline (BPL) technology and project management, chose Corinex Communications Medium and Low Voltage Powerline equipment to form the communications backbone for the PEA Internet service.
Phase 1 of the PEA project delivered broadband service to commercial customers in Pathum Thani, a province with a population of 1.5 million, in addition to providing residential broadband service to a rural area 2 km away. The service delivers over 25 Mbps over the Medium and Low Voltage lines and has been running steady for over 2 months. The phase 2 expansion of the project, which will pass over government offices, residential homes, and commercial offices will begin in late spring and will add Smart Grid applications such as ECB's Automatic Meter Reading solution to the Corinex network.
"We have conducted the Trial Project with ECB who teamed up with Corinex to deliver the Internet backbone as they demonstrated the capabilities in advanced Powerline technology," stated Jirasak Tongtar, PEA Director of ICT Business Development. "Now that we have seen the pilot project deliver an effective and stable network, we plan to implement this technology on our power grids for our class 3 license telecommunication services."
On March 26, 2007, PEA became one of very few companies in Asia that have been granted a license from the Thailand regulator to operate full telecommunication services. PEA has received Class 3 Telecom License from National Telecommunication (NTC) who regulate all telecommunication activities in Thailand. PEA plans to offer BPL services including Internet service, VoIP, and content through its 16,000 Kilometer power grid across the country in 73 Provinces, with a combined population of over 50 million people, as early as this year.
"ECB has invested significant resources to develop the expertise necessary to deploy large scale Powerline networks on MV and LV lines, the trend in Powerline is coming to Asia, and in Thailand we have positioned ECB for this exciting opportunity and we are now ready to team up with partners or investors," said Pattanapong Chanhom, V.P. Business Development, ECB. "We are ecstatic with the cooperation from PEA and the support and performance from Corinex and Corinex Powerline networks."
"ECB and PEA are leading Asia with their advanced network and aggressive deployment plans for Powerline technology," said Brian Donnelly, Corinex Communications VP of Marketing and Business Development. "ECB, a Corinex Competency Center in Bangkok, Thailand, has demonstrated that with careful planning and support, Broadband over Powerline networks are feasible and can deliver a strong ROI."
Friday, April 13, 2007
Ambient & Consolidated Edison Launch New R & D Efforts Underground in Manhattan- to further evaluate on a larger scale Ambient's BPL System !!!
NEW YORK, BUSINESS WIRE -- Ambient Corporation (OTCBB: ABTG), a leader in Broadband over Power Lines (BPL) solutions, announced today that it will install its second generation BPL equipment on the underground electric system of Consolidated Edison Company of New York Inc. (NYSE: ED).
Successful completion of the research and development demonstration would allow Con Edison to further evaluate on a larger scale Ambient's BPL System for monitoring the underground distribution system.
Ambient's BPL platform is designed to support many, if not all, of the sensoring, monitoring and control applications that Con Edison may deploy to enhance its distribution system. Some of the applications that can be supported by the Ambient BPL system include aggregation of meter reading, peak load reductions and demand side management, energy flow measurements, stray voltage detection, and partial discharge detection.
The demonstration of Ambient's partial discharge detection application, in particular, may be a key component in proactively detecting impending failures in cables or other distribution system components.
Ram Rao, Ambient's Chief Technology Officer stated, "We are pleased to be working with our long-time partner Con Edison on this R & D project. Con Edison has stated their commitment to enhance their grid, and we anticipate that the Ambient BPL system will be a key part of the solution that Con Edison is developing to achieve their planned improvements. The Ambient BPL platform has been developed to enable exactly these types of applications and solutions."
Many of the utilities in the United States that are in the process of developing plans for the next generation distribution systems have identified communications capabilities as a key requirement. Ambient's BPL system is an ideal solution to meet this requirement as it operates over the same infrastructure that the utilities own, operate, and maintain to deliver electricity.
read: Con Edison Details $1.4 Billion in Electric Delivery Investments & New Emergency Response Initiatives for Summer
read: Ambient`s BPL Case Study:
Utility Communications
read: Ambient`s BPL Case Study:
Substation Monitoring
Read: Ambient`s BPL Case Study
Manhattan Multiple Dwelling Unit Deployment
'Smart grid' enthusiasm powers Comverge's IPO !!!
Comverge's IPO rises in debut
By Steve Gelsi, MarketWatch
Last Update: 11:40 AM ET Apr 13, 2007
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Comverge Inc. shares rose more than 10% Friday, after having priced above their projected range in the electric-power efficiency specialist's stock market debut.
Comverge (COMV ) priced 5.3 million shares at $18 each, generating gross proceeds of $95.4 million with underwriter Citigroup (C) .
The shares changed hands at $20.73 at late morning on Nasdaq.
The East Hanover, N.J.-based maker of software and related technology is tapping into the so-called "cleantech" sector aimed at reducing the world's carbon footprint by making electricity transmission grids smarter.
"There was extremely large institutional demand," said Scott Sweet of IPO Boutique. "It was dominated by dedicated mutual funds that buy only utility-based entities, and funds that have as its charter the purchase of only socially responsible stocks."
Reflecting this, Comverge increased the size of the IPO by nearly 13%, up from 4.7 million shares, and priced above its estimated range of $15 to $17 a share.
While Comverge hasn't yet turned a profit, its revenue increased 45% in the past year and its net loss narrowed by 28%.
Renaissance Capital, which manages the IPO Plus Fund (IPOSX ) , noted that stock performance turned in Comverge competitors such as Esco Technologies (ESE ) and Itron (ITRI ) has been relatively flat.
Comverge has distinguished itself as the first demand-management company to offer utilities outsourcing, Renaissance Capital said.
The company also recruits residential electric customers to install response technology from the company on air conditioners in return for a $30 payment.
In peak summer hours, Comverge monitors usage and lowers the capacity used by these air conditioners, saving some one kilowatt per residence.
Utilities then pay Comverge per megawatt of capacity saved
By Steve Gelsi, MarketWatch
Last Update: 11:40 AM ET Apr 13, 2007
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Comverge Inc. shares rose more than 10% Friday, after having priced above their projected range in the electric-power efficiency specialist's stock market debut.
Comverge (COMV ) priced 5.3 million shares at $18 each, generating gross proceeds of $95.4 million with underwriter Citigroup (C) .
The shares changed hands at $20.73 at late morning on Nasdaq.
The East Hanover, N.J.-based maker of software and related technology is tapping into the so-called "cleantech" sector aimed at reducing the world's carbon footprint by making electricity transmission grids smarter.
"There was extremely large institutional demand," said Scott Sweet of IPO Boutique. "It was dominated by dedicated mutual funds that buy only utility-based entities, and funds that have as its charter the purchase of only socially responsible stocks."
Reflecting this, Comverge increased the size of the IPO by nearly 13%, up from 4.7 million shares, and priced above its estimated range of $15 to $17 a share.
While Comverge hasn't yet turned a profit, its revenue increased 45% in the past year and its net loss narrowed by 28%.
Renaissance Capital, which manages the IPO Plus Fund (IPOSX ) , noted that stock performance turned in Comverge competitors such as Esco Technologies (ESE ) and Itron (ITRI ) has been relatively flat.
Comverge has distinguished itself as the first demand-management company to offer utilities outsourcing, Renaissance Capital said.
The company also recruits residential electric customers to install response technology from the company on air conditioners in return for a $30 payment.
In peak summer hours, Comverge monitors usage and lowers the capacity used by these air conditioners, saving some one kilowatt per residence.
Utilities then pay Comverge per megawatt of capacity saved
SDG&E's 'Smart Meter' Program Receives Final State Approval
Thursday April 12, 1:56 pm ET
SAN DIEGO, April 12, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Today the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) gave San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) the green light to implement its ``smart meter'' technology project that will revolutionize how it delivers services to customers and how customers manage their energy usage.
The decision approves $572 million for the smart meter project from 2007 through 2011. SDG&E plans to begin replacing an estimated 1.4 million electric meters with smart meters and retrofitting approximately 900,000 gas meters throughout its service territory beginning in 2008.
``Smart meters will provide our customers with the technology tools necessary to help manage their energy usage and improve their energy efficiency,'' said Debra L. Reed, president and chief executive officer of SDG&E. ``With this favorable decision, customers will now be empowered to make more informed energy choices which will ultimately help ease the strain on our system during times of high energy demand.''
The decision also formally adopts an agreement with the CPUC's Division of Ratepayer Advocates (DRA) and the Utility Consumers' Action Network (UCAN).
``With this agreement, the San Diego region is now positioned be one of the nation's leaders in emerging energy technologies via a smarter electric distribution grid,'' said Michael Shames, UCAN's executive director. ``We plan to continue to work with SDG&E to achieve the full potential of this investment so that customers benefit directly.''
DRA and UCAN concurred that the smart meter program is an investment that will improve customer service by providing more information on energy usage, assisting in electric system outage detection and restoration, and transforming the meter-reading and other service processes.
``The agreement significantly improves upon SDG&E's original proposal, providing more features and more value for ratepayers. Consumers will be able to go online or eventually use in-home devices to help them manage their energy usage,'' said Dana Appling, director of the Division of Ratepayer Advocates. ``The smart meter program can now be considered a sound investment.''
Smart meters allow two-way communication between the utility and a customer's meter. Smart meters will provide customers with detailed energy use data that can help them reduce their energy use and costs. This information also can help residential customers earn a rebate for reducing energy use on peak usage days. In addition, smart meters improve the detection of power outages, aid in outage restoration and can even provide improved customer services resulting from more detailed and timely information on individual energy use patterns.
Wholesale electricity prices fluctuate widely throughout the day. Smart-meter technology eventually will allow customers to know how much electricity costs when they use it. Armed with this information, customers can choose to reduce their usage when prices are high and shift their use to times when prices are low, reducing overall system costs and easing the strain on the electric grid at critical times.
The program will reduce SDG&E's operating costs, according to Reed. These lower operational costs will come from a variety of efficiencies including deferring traditional capital expenditures on distribution facilities, eliminating manual meter reading, reducing unnecessary trips to a customer's home to activate or shut off service, and detecting and restoring service more quickly after an outage.
More information about the smart meter program is available at http://www.sdge.com/smartmeter.
SDG&E currently serves 3.4 million consumers through 1.4 million electric meters and more than 830,000 natural gas meters. The utility's service area spans 4,100 square miles and serves customers in more than 125 communities from Southern Orange County to the Mexican border. SDG&E is a regulated subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - News). Sempra Energy, based in San Diego, is a Fortune 500 energy services holding company. To learn more, go to http://www.sdge.com.
SDG&E received approval from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) on its Smart Meter proposal.
Smart Meter
Creating a foundation for the future
The "Smart Meter" Program Receives
Final Approval
On April 12, 2007, SDG&E received approval from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) on its Smart Meter proposal. This is the final decision after two years of Regulatory proceedings.
Smart Metering Overview
SDG&E’s® Smart Metering system forms the foundation for the future of new services for customers by automatically communicating energy use and pricing information.
With smart meters, you will be able to:
Get rebates for reducing electricity use during peak times
Access information about your energy use 24 hours a day
The new smart meter system also provides enhanced service to customers by:
Improving outage detection and faster restoration
More flexible services when you want them
Reducing the need to access your property
What smart meters do
Put simply, smart meters transmit and distribute energy use information. Using a secure network that allows for two-way communication between SDG&E and its customers, smart meters can virtually eliminate the need for reading meters in person, while providing more accurate energy use information for billing and customer service.
Why smart meters
On extremely hot summer days, the electric grid can get very congested, much like a traffic jam. Demand grows quickly, especially from air conditioning use, so supplies shrink fast. On these high demand days, called peak days, SDG&E must pay a premium to ensure customers have the power they need.
In fact, 20% of our power generation resources are needed only about 1% of the time. Reducing this peak demand will produce savings for everyone and improve electric reliability. Smart meters are a solution which benefit the entire community by reducing the need to buy higher priced power, saving natural resources and lessening the potential for blackouts.
====
Previous article:
Ambient and San Diego Gas & Electric Extend Agreement on Broadband over Power Lines !!!
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Breaking News: IBM Introduces Grid to the Grid
ARMONK, N.Y., and HOUSTON, April 11 -- Today, IBM announced that it has begun a new coalition to accelerate the adoption of Intelligent Utility Network (IUN) technologies and solutions on a global basis. CenterPoint Energy Inc.'s electric transmission and distribution subsidiary, CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric LLC, is the founding member of a group of utility companies working with IBM on this initiative.
The Intelligent Utility Network Coalition is being launched and developed by IBM to help accelerate the adoption of IUN technologies and solutions globally. This effort will include: establishing an industry community for collaboration, knowledge sharing, education and innovation; working with energy industry and standards groups, and the development and deployment of IUN strategic solutions and technologies. Utilities and related companies based in the United States, Europe and Asia-Pacific are expected to join CenterPoint Energy in the initiative over the next several months.
"We're excited to be the founding member of this coalition. We expect that the Intelligent Grid will improve electric power line grid planning, operations, and maintenance, enabling us to deliver power more efficiently. We also expect the technology to contribute to fewer and shorter outages and higher productivity while maintaining our high level of data security," said Tom Standish, CenterPoint Energy Group president of regulated operations. "This innovative technology will provide on-demand data and information that will create a platform for exciting new products and better service for our customers."
IBM and CenterPoint Energy are engaged in a strategic effort to develop and deploy IUN solutions designed to enhance the efficiency and reliability of utility operations at CenterPoint Energy and to increase the ability of customers to manage and use energy in a more cost-effective and energy-efficient way.
IBM and CenterPoint Energy have been collaborating on several projects including the initial limited deployment of an Advanced Meter Infrastructure (AMI), which allows remote connection and disconnection of service and automated meter reads for customers in the Greater Houston area. In the future, this technology is designed to allow Retail Electric Providers (REPs) in the competitive Texas electric market the opportunity to offer customers enhanced products and services, and to facilitate movement by customers between electric providers. The new technology is also expected to give customers the ability to better manage their energy usage using real-time price signals and the ability to remotely control appliances to reduce consumption.
In conjunction with the AMI project, IBM and CenterPoint Energy are implementing components of a "self-healing grid," which will provide grid data, information and analytics to improve outage detection and outage restoration times, grid planning, and ongoing operations. This limited deployment provides the field trials that will enable CenterPoint Energy to have an automated and proactive capability to anticipate problems, find solutions and optimize the performance of its power delivery system. For customers, that would mean improved electric service reliability, as well as better and quicker responses to outages. IBM Global Services is collaborating with CenterPoint Energy on the implementation and deployment of the telecommunications network required to support IUN initiatives, including the design and implementation support for the Broadband over Power Lines (BPL) technology used as a component of the overall communication infrastructure.
IBM has tapped its wide range of energy industry business consultants and technology experts to provide the overall architecture, solution design and development across these projects, along with project management and system integration services in close collaboration with CenterPoint Energy. CenterPoint Energy engineers, managers and operations personnel are contributing their industry knowledge and experience to help develop solutions as the technical advances are placed into service within the company's electric infrastructure. The new initiative announced today extends an IUN 'roadmap' which IBM and CenterPoint Energy have developed, in consideration of the U.S. Department of Energy's "Grid 2030" initiative, the U.S. Department of Energy's GridWise vision, and the Electric Power Research Institute's (EPRI) Intelligent Grid framework.
"The Intelligent Utility Network will transform the way power is delivered, managed and used," said Guido Bartels, general manager of IBM Global Energy & Utilities Industry. "We are delighted to have CenterPoint Energy join us as the founding member of this strategic global coalition, which brings our shared vision to life. As the group grows to include other utility companies and partners, members will have unique opportunities to apply new ways of thinking, new technologies and management strategies. This initiative will provide a forum for exchanging ideas and best practices with the other strategic IUN partners. This type of sharing and collaboration is a prime example of teaming to innovate."
An Intelligent Utility Network, or IUN, is an information architecture and infrastructure that enables the continuous automated monitoring of a utility's assets and operations as well as customer electricity usage, and uses this "on demand" information to improve service, reliability and efficiency. This includes a combination of "smart" technologies and analytics, which connect and facilitate information flows and remote monitoring and control among utility equipment installed in the field and computers in central offices, providing real-time access to operations and business data. Characteristics of a utility operating in an IUN environment include:
More automation in monitoring and control of the power usage and the electric grid.
Greater integration of the grid to create an end-to-end system from the utility to the home, and from the home back to the utility.
Greater responsiveness to changing market conditions and regulatory compliance.
The Intelligent Utility Network Coalition is being launched and developed by IBM to help accelerate the adoption of IUN technologies and solutions globally. This effort will include: establishing an industry community for collaboration, knowledge sharing, education and innovation; working with energy industry and standards groups, and the development and deployment of IUN strategic solutions and technologies. Utilities and related companies based in the United States, Europe and Asia-Pacific are expected to join CenterPoint Energy in the initiative over the next several months.
"We're excited to be the founding member of this coalition. We expect that the Intelligent Grid will improve electric power line grid planning, operations, and maintenance, enabling us to deliver power more efficiently. We also expect the technology to contribute to fewer and shorter outages and higher productivity while maintaining our high level of data security," said Tom Standish, CenterPoint Energy Group president of regulated operations. "This innovative technology will provide on-demand data and information that will create a platform for exciting new products and better service for our customers."
IBM and CenterPoint Energy are engaged in a strategic effort to develop and deploy IUN solutions designed to enhance the efficiency and reliability of utility operations at CenterPoint Energy and to increase the ability of customers to manage and use energy in a more cost-effective and energy-efficient way.
IBM and CenterPoint Energy have been collaborating on several projects including the initial limited deployment of an Advanced Meter Infrastructure (AMI), which allows remote connection and disconnection of service and automated meter reads for customers in the Greater Houston area. In the future, this technology is designed to allow Retail Electric Providers (REPs) in the competitive Texas electric market the opportunity to offer customers enhanced products and services, and to facilitate movement by customers between electric providers. The new technology is also expected to give customers the ability to better manage their energy usage using real-time price signals and the ability to remotely control appliances to reduce consumption.
In conjunction with the AMI project, IBM and CenterPoint Energy are implementing components of a "self-healing grid," which will provide grid data, information and analytics to improve outage detection and outage restoration times, grid planning, and ongoing operations. This limited deployment provides the field trials that will enable CenterPoint Energy to have an automated and proactive capability to anticipate problems, find solutions and optimize the performance of its power delivery system. For customers, that would mean improved electric service reliability, as well as better and quicker responses to outages. IBM Global Services is collaborating with CenterPoint Energy on the implementation and deployment of the telecommunications network required to support IUN initiatives, including the design and implementation support for the Broadband over Power Lines (BPL) technology used as a component of the overall communication infrastructure.
IBM has tapped its wide range of energy industry business consultants and technology experts to provide the overall architecture, solution design and development across these projects, along with project management and system integration services in close collaboration with CenterPoint Energy. CenterPoint Energy engineers, managers and operations personnel are contributing their industry knowledge and experience to help develop solutions as the technical advances are placed into service within the company's electric infrastructure. The new initiative announced today extends an IUN 'roadmap' which IBM and CenterPoint Energy have developed, in consideration of the U.S. Department of Energy's "Grid 2030" initiative, the U.S. Department of Energy's GridWise vision, and the Electric Power Research Institute's (EPRI) Intelligent Grid framework.
"The Intelligent Utility Network will transform the way power is delivered, managed and used," said Guido Bartels, general manager of IBM Global Energy & Utilities Industry. "We are delighted to have CenterPoint Energy join us as the founding member of this strategic global coalition, which brings our shared vision to life. As the group grows to include other utility companies and partners, members will have unique opportunities to apply new ways of thinking, new technologies and management strategies. This initiative will provide a forum for exchanging ideas and best practices with the other strategic IUN partners. This type of sharing and collaboration is a prime example of teaming to innovate."
An Intelligent Utility Network, or IUN, is an information architecture and infrastructure that enables the continuous automated monitoring of a utility's assets and operations as well as customer electricity usage, and uses this "on demand" information to improve service, reliability and efficiency. This includes a combination of "smart" technologies and analytics, which connect and facilitate information flows and remote monitoring and control among utility equipment installed in the field and computers in central offices, providing real-time access to operations and business data. Characteristics of a utility operating in an IUN environment include:
More automation in monitoring and control of the power usage and the electric grid.
Greater integration of the grid to create an end-to-end system from the utility to the home, and from the home back to the utility.
Greater responsiveness to changing market conditions and regulatory compliance.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Manhattan BPL-Smart Grid Project: Ambient & Consolidated Edison`s underground installation of 2nd generation(200Mbps) BPL equipment !!!
Ambient & Consolidated Edison Launch New R & D Efforts Underground in Manhattan
Wednesday April 11, 8:15 am ET
Network Monitoring and Communications Platform to be Further Evaluated
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ambient Corporation (OTCBB: ABTG - News), a leader in Broadband over Power Lines (BPL) solutions, announced today that it will install its second generation BPL equipment on the underground electric system of Consolidated Edison Company of New York Inc. (NYSE: ED - News).
Successful completion of the research and development demonstration would allow Con Edison to further evaluate on a larger scale Ambient's BPL System for monitoring the underground distribution system.
Ambient's BPL platform is designed to support many, if not all, of the sensoring, monitoring and control applications that Con Edison may deploy to enhance its distribution system. Some of the applications that can be supported by the Ambient BPL system include aggregation of meter reading, peak load reductions and demand side management, energy flow measurements, stray voltage detection, and partial discharge detection.
The demonstration of Ambient's partial discharge detection application, in particular, may be a key component in proactively detecting impending failures in cables or other distribution system components.
Ram Rao, Ambient's Chief Technology Officer stated, "We are pleased to be working with our long-time partner Con Edison on this R & D project. Con Edison has stated their commitment to enhance their grid, and we anticipate that the Ambient BPL system will be a key part of the solution that Con Edison is developing to achieve their planned improvements. The Ambient BPL platform has been developed to enable exactly these types of applications and solutions."
Many of the utilities in the United States that are in the process of developing plans for the next generation distribution systems have identified communications capabilities as a key requirement. Ambient's BPL system is an ideal solution to meet this requirement as it operates over the same infrastructure that the utilities own, operate, and maintain to deliver electricity.
read: Con Edison Details $1.4 Billion in Electric Delivery Investments & New Emergency Response Initiatives for Summer
read: Ambient`s BPL Case Study:
Utility Communications
read: Ambient`s BPL Case Study:
Substation Monitoring
Read: Ambient`s BPL Case Study
Manhattan Multiple Dwelling Unit Deployment
Wednesday April 11, 8:15 am ET
Network Monitoring and Communications Platform to be Further Evaluated
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ambient Corporation (OTCBB: ABTG - News), a leader in Broadband over Power Lines (BPL) solutions, announced today that it will install its second generation BPL equipment on the underground electric system of Consolidated Edison Company of New York Inc. (NYSE: ED - News).
Successful completion of the research and development demonstration would allow Con Edison to further evaluate on a larger scale Ambient's BPL System for monitoring the underground distribution system.
Ambient's BPL platform is designed to support many, if not all, of the sensoring, monitoring and control applications that Con Edison may deploy to enhance its distribution system. Some of the applications that can be supported by the Ambient BPL system include aggregation of meter reading, peak load reductions and demand side management, energy flow measurements, stray voltage detection, and partial discharge detection.
The demonstration of Ambient's partial discharge detection application, in particular, may be a key component in proactively detecting impending failures in cables or other distribution system components.
Ram Rao, Ambient's Chief Technology Officer stated, "We are pleased to be working with our long-time partner Con Edison on this R & D project. Con Edison has stated their commitment to enhance their grid, and we anticipate that the Ambient BPL system will be a key part of the solution that Con Edison is developing to achieve their planned improvements. The Ambient BPL platform has been developed to enable exactly these types of applications and solutions."
Many of the utilities in the United States that are in the process of developing plans for the next generation distribution systems have identified communications capabilities as a key requirement. Ambient's BPL system is an ideal solution to meet this requirement as it operates over the same infrastructure that the utilities own, operate, and maintain to deliver electricity.
read: Con Edison Details $1.4 Billion in Electric Delivery Investments & New Emergency Response Initiatives for Summer
read: Ambient`s BPL Case Study:
Utility Communications
read: Ambient`s BPL Case Study:
Substation Monitoring
Read: Ambient`s BPL Case Study
Manhattan Multiple Dwelling Unit Deployment
BPL Today: Arkansas BPL law signed by Governor Mike Beebe, D
Arkansas BPL law signed by governor
4/102007
Gov Mike Beebe, D, signed the Arkansas BPL act into law before our last report on the legislation as indicated by the bill having been given an act number, the governor's office told us yesterday ...
READ MORE:
http://www.bpltoday.com/
Previous article: Entergy Corp.(NYSE: ETR) Enters BPL World with Ambient Corp. to Pilot Smart Grid and Triple-Play services !!!
Source: www.BPLTODAY.COM
12/05/2006
Entergy enters BPL world with Ambient pilot
===
"The ENTERGY Corp. BPL pilot will begin during the fourth quarter of this year and will last six months at ENTERGY`s West Markham office in Little Rock, Arkansas."
The firm (Entergy Corp.) sent a team of engineers to just about every BPL conference we've covered.
"AMBIENT CORP. was selected after a thorough review process of the different BPL technologies available in the marketplace today," explained Peter Lendrum, Entergy`s vice president of sales and marketing.
4/102007
Gov Mike Beebe, D, signed the Arkansas BPL act into law before our last report on the legislation as indicated by the bill having been given an act number, the governor's office told us yesterday ...
READ MORE:
http://www.bpltoday.com/
Previous article: Entergy Corp.(NYSE: ETR) Enters BPL World with Ambient Corp. to Pilot Smart Grid and Triple-Play services !!!
Source: www.BPLTODAY.COM
12/05/2006
Entergy enters BPL world with Ambient pilot
===
"The ENTERGY Corp. BPL pilot will begin during the fourth quarter of this year and will last six months at ENTERGY`s West Markham office in Little Rock, Arkansas."
The firm (Entergy Corp.) sent a team of engineers to just about every BPL conference we've covered.
"AMBIENT CORP. was selected after a thorough review process of the different BPL technologies available in the marketplace today," explained Peter Lendrum, Entergy`s vice president of sales and marketing.
Thursday, April 05, 2007
News: ST. LOUIS,Missouri- River City, Ameren team up on commercial "broadband over power line" !!!
River City, Ameren team up on Electric Internet
By Jerri Stroud
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
04/05/2007
When Eben Shantz gets tired of working in his downtown loft, he can take his computer to the rooftop lounge or anywhere else in the Ventana, a building that offers Internet access from any electric outlet.
The Ventana, 1635 Washington Avenue, is the first building in the St. Louis area with commercial "broadband over power line" service from Electric Internet, a joint venture between an Ameren Corp. subsidiary and River City Internet Group LLC of Maryland Heights.
"It's really easy," said Shantz, 26, a computer programmer who works for a California company from his loft. "You don't have to set up anything weird."
Shantz and other residents plug modems into an electric outlet, plug their computers into the modem's Ethernet port, turn it on and start their browser software. The always-on connection uploads and downloads files at six megabits per second.
At the Ventana, the service costs about $13 a month, which is included in condo association fees. Tenants can order higher-speed connections from Electric Internet: 10-megabit service for $29 a month or 100-megabit service for $99 a month.
Electric Internet uses the electrical wiring within buildings to deliver Internet access to electrical outlets, building systems or hard-wired devices like security cameras. River City delivers Internet access to the building using telecommunications networks, not the power grid, and the Internet signal is then transmitted through the building's electrical wiring.
"It has the most flexibilty," said John Monshausen, vice president of Jacob Development Group, which owns the Ventana. "The tenants are extraordinarily happy."
Electric Internet is putting the system into an assisted living facility in south St. Louis County, an apartment building in the Central West End and two Jacob Development Group projects besides the Ventana, said Trey Goede, executive vice president of River City.
Goede said Electric Internet can save a building owner money because it doesn't require separate cables for Internet access. Developers don't have to guess where tenants will want to use the service, either. Instead of putting in three or four Internet jacks per unit, they know that tenants can plug in at any outlet.
Ameren Energy Communications, an unregulated subsidiary of the power company, provides equipment for connecting the Internet to a building's power system. River City acts as an Internet service provider, handling customer service and billing for the business.
The companies market the service jointly in the St. Louis area, said Cindy Bambini, project manager for Ameren Energy Communications. The utility may seek other partners elsewhere in its service area.
Electric Internet is marketing the service primarily to multi-tenant buildings, hospitals, office buildings and other commercial buildings. In most cases, the company is selling to developers of new buildings or those undergoing major renovation, Goede said.
Ameren has been testing Internet service delivered from its power poles to customers in Cape Girardeau for nearly five years, but it isn't planning to expand beyond that test, Bambini said. Several regulatory and technology issues need to be overcome before Ameren could start selling Internet access over its power grid, she said.
By Jerri Stroud
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
04/05/2007
When Eben Shantz gets tired of working in his downtown loft, he can take his computer to the rooftop lounge or anywhere else in the Ventana, a building that offers Internet access from any electric outlet.
The Ventana, 1635 Washington Avenue, is the first building in the St. Louis area with commercial "broadband over power line" service from Electric Internet, a joint venture between an Ameren Corp. subsidiary and River City Internet Group LLC of Maryland Heights.
"It's really easy," said Shantz, 26, a computer programmer who works for a California company from his loft. "You don't have to set up anything weird."
Shantz and other residents plug modems into an electric outlet, plug their computers into the modem's Ethernet port, turn it on and start their browser software. The always-on connection uploads and downloads files at six megabits per second.
At the Ventana, the service costs about $13 a month, which is included in condo association fees. Tenants can order higher-speed connections from Electric Internet: 10-megabit service for $29 a month or 100-megabit service for $99 a month.
Electric Internet uses the electrical wiring within buildings to deliver Internet access to electrical outlets, building systems or hard-wired devices like security cameras. River City delivers Internet access to the building using telecommunications networks, not the power grid, and the Internet signal is then transmitted through the building's electrical wiring.
"It has the most flexibilty," said John Monshausen, vice president of Jacob Development Group, which owns the Ventana. "The tenants are extraordinarily happy."
Electric Internet is putting the system into an assisted living facility in south St. Louis County, an apartment building in the Central West End and two Jacob Development Group projects besides the Ventana, said Trey Goede, executive vice president of River City.
Goede said Electric Internet can save a building owner money because it doesn't require separate cables for Internet access. Developers don't have to guess where tenants will want to use the service, either. Instead of putting in three or four Internet jacks per unit, they know that tenants can plug in at any outlet.
Ameren Energy Communications, an unregulated subsidiary of the power company, provides equipment for connecting the Internet to a building's power system. River City acts as an Internet service provider, handling customer service and billing for the business.
The companies market the service jointly in the St. Louis area, said Cindy Bambini, project manager for Ameren Energy Communications. The utility may seek other partners elsewhere in its service area.
Electric Internet is marketing the service primarily to multi-tenant buildings, hospitals, office buildings and other commercial buildings. In most cases, the company is selling to developers of new buildings or those undergoing major renovation, Goede said.
Ameren has been testing Internet service delivered from its power poles to customers in Cape Girardeau for nearly five years, but it isn't planning to expand beyond that test, Bambini said. Several regulatory and technology issues need to be overcome before Ameren could start selling Internet access over its power grid, she said.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
UTC TELECOM 2007: BROADBAND OVER POWER LINE SYMPOSIUM: From Smart Grids to Better Access to Broadband – Driving Next-Generation Utility Telecom
BROADBAND OVER POWER LINE SYMPOSIUM
MAY 6-9, 2007
AUSTIN CONVENTION CENTER
AUSTIN, TEXAS
From Smart Grids to Better Access to Broadband – Driving Next-Generation Utility Telecom
Sponsored By: CORINEX
Broadband over Power Line (BPL) deployments among electric utilities continues to grow and adapt to meet evolving utility and community needs. Today, BPL is proven to deliver technology for next-generation smart grid applications for utilities – plus, it is helping the communities these utilities serve by improving their access to commercial broadband services. At this symposium you will hear from utilities that are deploying BPL for smart grid applications as well as offering commercial broadband services. Learn how BPL technologies continue to improve all the time, how they integrate with other communications technologies, and where BPL experts see them headed in the future. Whether you are planning your utility’s next generation communications network or just trying to solve a short-term problem, learn how BPL can help.
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Smart Building To Smart Grid:
Success Stories at GridWeek
John J. "Jack" Mc Gowan, CEM
Energy Control Inc.
April 2007
A truly exciting event in the ongoing development of GridWise and Smart Energy Technology will be GridWeek. During the week of April 23 – 26 the technology leaders will be in Washington, DC to work together on next steps and to communicate to policy makers the importance of this initiative.
One really exciting part of GridWeek will be a Congressional Reception on April 24 at the Senate Hart Building. This reception will highlight Six Success Stories from Six States that are poster children for the future of GridWise.
Among the exciting stories are smart meter projects from Southern California Edison and Wal-Mart, a New Energy Economics story from IBM and Battelle National Labs, GridWise Interoperability from New Mexico and a Plug-in Hybrid story. These are diverse examples of how technology is being used in a forward looking way to expand energy management beyond the building in ways that bring value on both sides of the meter. A few of these stories will be briefly identified here and you can expect to hear more about them in coming months.
Smart Metering is an interesting topic that has been of interest to building automation for decades. The topic first caught on with utilities as a way to cut the cost of individually reading every meter by automating part of the process. This initiative has been elevated now to an Advanced Metering Initiative and California is on the forefront of the effort with rules that their commission pass requiring that all meters be capable of providing interval data and that communication links be provided to all customers. This opens up the capability to redefine the way customers make decisions about using electricity and how they are charged for it. Therefore Advanced Metering is an initiative that goes far beyond simply reading the meter and anticipates the provision of energy and possibly non-energy related services through the communication backbone that would be created to the meter. Broadband communications over power line would be a non-energy related service. The California vision of advanced meter focuses on customer-oriented or demand-side solutions. The idea is to create a technology and pricing policy foundation that links customer rates with the market price for energy. More specifically, it seeks to provide customers with information and real capability to better manage their energy bills. Quite simply that sounds a lot like the purpose of early building automation systems that were called energy management systems, but it really is the next generation of convergence blending energy with IT and building applications. Wal Mart will be featured because they are using smart metering with building automation to optimize the energy performance of their stores. The system further provides real time information on energy consumption against baseline and through web services; managers can diagnose issues and execute corrections on line.
Interoperability is a not a new term in the automation world and the project from New Mexico takes this notion of next generation-convergences to its logical conclusion. The projects will implement a Web Service between a major utility and one of its large customers. That customer, a university, has spent $60 million over the last 5 years on a new high efficiency chiller and boiler plant, eight megawatts of combined heat and power systems, campus wide automation and integration for over 100 buildings and campus wide smart metering systems to monitor consumption to a building level. In addition they are rehabing a large thermal storage system that will be charged by solar thermal power, and integrated with an absorption chiller. This is the ultimate integration project because it ties together complex building systems; a central plant with renewable energy systems for heating and cooling and distributed generation, with Web Services for interoperability between automation, metering and energy systems. With all of that integration it creates an exciting opportunity to completely rethink building management. We can already see with the rapid growth of Automated Demand Response that the market, the utilities and the energy users are ready to explore energy control sequences are a more global basis. This is the next frontier for energy and building automation and GridWeek will be the place to glimpse how the future will look and feel.
John J. "Jack" Mc Gowan, CEM
Energy Control Inc.
April 2007
A truly exciting event in the ongoing development of GridWise and Smart Energy Technology will be GridWeek. During the week of April 23 – 26 the technology leaders will be in Washington, DC to work together on next steps and to communicate to policy makers the importance of this initiative.
One really exciting part of GridWeek will be a Congressional Reception on April 24 at the Senate Hart Building. This reception will highlight Six Success Stories from Six States that are poster children for the future of GridWise.
Among the exciting stories are smart meter projects from Southern California Edison and Wal-Mart, a New Energy Economics story from IBM and Battelle National Labs, GridWise Interoperability from New Mexico and a Plug-in Hybrid story. These are diverse examples of how technology is being used in a forward looking way to expand energy management beyond the building in ways that bring value on both sides of the meter. A few of these stories will be briefly identified here and you can expect to hear more about them in coming months.
Smart Metering is an interesting topic that has been of interest to building automation for decades. The topic first caught on with utilities as a way to cut the cost of individually reading every meter by automating part of the process. This initiative has been elevated now to an Advanced Metering Initiative and California is on the forefront of the effort with rules that their commission pass requiring that all meters be capable of providing interval data and that communication links be provided to all customers. This opens up the capability to redefine the way customers make decisions about using electricity and how they are charged for it. Therefore Advanced Metering is an initiative that goes far beyond simply reading the meter and anticipates the provision of energy and possibly non-energy related services through the communication backbone that would be created to the meter. Broadband communications over power line would be a non-energy related service. The California vision of advanced meter focuses on customer-oriented or demand-side solutions. The idea is to create a technology and pricing policy foundation that links customer rates with the market price for energy. More specifically, it seeks to provide customers with information and real capability to better manage their energy bills. Quite simply that sounds a lot like the purpose of early building automation systems that were called energy management systems, but it really is the next generation of convergence blending energy with IT and building applications. Wal Mart will be featured because they are using smart metering with building automation to optimize the energy performance of their stores. The system further provides real time information on energy consumption against baseline and through web services; managers can diagnose issues and execute corrections on line.
Interoperability is a not a new term in the automation world and the project from New Mexico takes this notion of next generation-convergences to its logical conclusion. The projects will implement a Web Service between a major utility and one of its large customers. That customer, a university, has spent $60 million over the last 5 years on a new high efficiency chiller and boiler plant, eight megawatts of combined heat and power systems, campus wide automation and integration for over 100 buildings and campus wide smart metering systems to monitor consumption to a building level. In addition they are rehabing a large thermal storage system that will be charged by solar thermal power, and integrated with an absorption chiller. This is the ultimate integration project because it ties together complex building systems; a central plant with renewable energy systems for heating and cooling and distributed generation, with Web Services for interoperability between automation, metering and energy systems. With all of that integration it creates an exciting opportunity to completely rethink building management. We can already see with the rapid growth of Automated Demand Response that the market, the utilities and the energy users are ready to explore energy control sequences are a more global basis. This is the next frontier for energy and building automation and GridWeek will be the place to glimpse how the future will look and feel.
Powerline Networking Uses What You Already Have
Powerline technology rides along existing wires to network PCs, TVs, set-top boxes and home theater components.
Info and Answers | April 02, 2007 |
by Toni Kistner
Though the most popular, 802.11 wireless is not your only choice for home networking. You can network your devices over your phone lines, power lines, and even your coaxial cabling. And there’s always that old standby, wired Ethernet, which can’t be beat for reliability—if you don’t mind draping or snaking cables.
This year, HomePlug power line technology is one the most interesting wireless alternatives. HomePlug 1.0 is a standards-based technology that yields 14 Mbps data rate (about 5-7 Mbps throughput). HomePlug products are easy to use and secure. Plug a HomePlug router into a standard wall socket and follow a few configuration screens. Attach your PC or other device to a HomePlug adapter or bridge and plug that into the wall socket to “charge” your network.
The HomePlug network is password-protected and data transmissions are encrypted with at least 56-bit DES encryption. One caveat: No power strips!
HomePlug is strongly standards driven. Similar to the Wi-Fi Alliance, the HomePlug Powerline Alliance oversees specification development and testing and certifies products for interoperability. The group is also working on a broadband power line (BPL) specification that will provide last mile connectivity and eventually interoperate with “in-house” HomePlug.
Moreover, HomePlug’s next generation standard, HomePlug AV, is built to handle multiple HD streams and serve as a whole-home network backbone. With its a 200 Mbps data rate, HomePlug AV is being championed by consumer electronics vendors such as Sharp Electronics, which demonstrated a 108-inch HDTV with built-in HomePlug at the Consumer Electronics Show this past January.
Why would you want a HomePlug HDTV? The HomePlug Alliance envisions a time when you’ll take your Home Plug AV TV out of the box, plug it in and it will automatically connect to your components, including your cable box, DVD player, DVR, PC and home theater system. Realize, though that HomePlug technology is a network transport (or data pipe) only. Vendors still need to develop savvy software to run on both ends of the connection to manage operations and data.
“This is a portion of the industry that lags behind and is a great place for standards to be set,” says Jim Reeber, director of marketing at HomePlug chip maker Arkados.
Another standards group, the Digital Living Network Association (DLNA), is working to spur software development and promote interoperability. But in the meantime, setting up a HomePlug entertainment backbone alongside your existing wireless network makes good sense. After all, both HomePlug and 802.11 are Ethernet based, so devices will at least recognize each other if not share content.
Back to products. At CES this past January, 14 HomePlug products were announced from 11 different vendors. Notably, Gigafast and German vendor devolo AG showed HomePlug gear that makes it possible to stream audio from your PC to your stereo system or speakers. Pricing has not yet been announced, but the products are expected to ship by late spring.
But there’s no reason to wait for HomePlug AV gear because 100-plus megabit data streams are still overkill for most households. HomePlug 1.0 technology is built to handle at least four uncompressed simultaneous data streams, and when compressed, as many as eight.
That means today your family can download music onto one machine, stream music to a second machine, surf the Web and play an online game all at the same time. Of course, performance varies by application, but you get the idea.
HomePlug 1.0 products cost around the same or less than 802.11 products, and are available from a slew of vendors (see listing, below).
Powerline Networking Companies and Products
Actiontec—HomePlug adapters, hubs, extenders
Asoka, USA—HomePlug adapters, bridges, routers
devolo AG—HomePlug adapters, routers, audio devices
GigaFast—HomePlug adapters, bridges, routers
Iogear—HomePlug adapters, bridges
Linksys—HomePlug adapters, bridges, routers
Netgear—HomePlug adapters, HD adapter
Wilife—HomePlug home surveillance system
Zyxel—HomePlug adapters, bridges
Info and Answers | April 02, 2007 |
by Toni Kistner
Though the most popular, 802.11 wireless is not your only choice for home networking. You can network your devices over your phone lines, power lines, and even your coaxial cabling. And there’s always that old standby, wired Ethernet, which can’t be beat for reliability—if you don’t mind draping or snaking cables.
This year, HomePlug power line technology is one the most interesting wireless alternatives. HomePlug 1.0 is a standards-based technology that yields 14 Mbps data rate (about 5-7 Mbps throughput). HomePlug products are easy to use and secure. Plug a HomePlug router into a standard wall socket and follow a few configuration screens. Attach your PC or other device to a HomePlug adapter or bridge and plug that into the wall socket to “charge” your network.
The HomePlug network is password-protected and data transmissions are encrypted with at least 56-bit DES encryption. One caveat: No power strips!
HomePlug is strongly standards driven. Similar to the Wi-Fi Alliance, the HomePlug Powerline Alliance oversees specification development and testing and certifies products for interoperability. The group is also working on a broadband power line (BPL) specification that will provide last mile connectivity and eventually interoperate with “in-house” HomePlug.
Moreover, HomePlug’s next generation standard, HomePlug AV, is built to handle multiple HD streams and serve as a whole-home network backbone. With its a 200 Mbps data rate, HomePlug AV is being championed by consumer electronics vendors such as Sharp Electronics, which demonstrated a 108-inch HDTV with built-in HomePlug at the Consumer Electronics Show this past January.
Why would you want a HomePlug HDTV? The HomePlug Alliance envisions a time when you’ll take your Home Plug AV TV out of the box, plug it in and it will automatically connect to your components, including your cable box, DVD player, DVR, PC and home theater system. Realize, though that HomePlug technology is a network transport (or data pipe) only. Vendors still need to develop savvy software to run on both ends of the connection to manage operations and data.
“This is a portion of the industry that lags behind and is a great place for standards to be set,” says Jim Reeber, director of marketing at HomePlug chip maker Arkados.
Another standards group, the Digital Living Network Association (DLNA), is working to spur software development and promote interoperability. But in the meantime, setting up a HomePlug entertainment backbone alongside your existing wireless network makes good sense. After all, both HomePlug and 802.11 are Ethernet based, so devices will at least recognize each other if not share content.
Back to products. At CES this past January, 14 HomePlug products were announced from 11 different vendors. Notably, Gigafast and German vendor devolo AG showed HomePlug gear that makes it possible to stream audio from your PC to your stereo system or speakers. Pricing has not yet been announced, but the products are expected to ship by late spring.
But there’s no reason to wait for HomePlug AV gear because 100-plus megabit data streams are still overkill for most households. HomePlug 1.0 technology is built to handle at least four uncompressed simultaneous data streams, and when compressed, as many as eight.
That means today your family can download music onto one machine, stream music to a second machine, surf the Web and play an online game all at the same time. Of course, performance varies by application, but you get the idea.
HomePlug 1.0 products cost around the same or less than 802.11 products, and are available from a slew of vendors (see listing, below).
Powerline Networking Companies and Products
Actiontec—HomePlug adapters, hubs, extenders
Asoka, USA—HomePlug adapters, bridges, routers
devolo AG—HomePlug adapters, routers, audio devices
GigaFast—HomePlug adapters, bridges, routers
Iogear—HomePlug adapters, bridges
Linksys—HomePlug adapters, bridges, routers
Netgear—HomePlug adapters, HD adapter
Wilife—HomePlug home surveillance system
Zyxel—HomePlug adapters, bridges
Sunday, April 01, 2007
New York City- the Big Apple is stuck in the dial-up age ?
NYC Falling On Wrong Side Of Digital Divide, Officials Worry
By K.C. Jones
InformationWeek
Fri Mar 30, 5:20 PM ET
New York is the most dynamic city in the world, but when it comes to the Internet, lawmakers are concerned the Big Apple is stuck in the dial-up age.
"I want to figure out ways to change that and to use broadband to bring in jobs, help schools, and make the city safer," Council Member Gale Brewer said during New York's first hearing on broadband access Friday.
Brewer joined Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion Jr., Bronx Community College, and the South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation in convening the hearing on getting Bronx residents on the "right side of the digital divide." Brewer stressed the importance of affordable broadband, while Carrion stressed the importance of universal and reliable broadband.
New York's political leaders concerns about residents' ability to compete in a global economy aren't unfounded. Rankings released this week by the World Economic Forum put the United States in seventh place worldwide for "networked readiness."
The U.S. ranks 12th in the world for broadband users per capita, and, according to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, 27% of American households don't use the Internet at all. Increased age and lower socio-economic status make it less likely that people will have access to broadband, according to Pew.
The largest U.S. city has fallen behind other cities like San Francisco, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, Minneapolis, Atlanta, and Houston in terms of government-backed major broadband initiatives. The Bronx typically rates lower than other New York City boroughs on economic indicators.
"Today, one of the greatest catalysts for fostering economic opportunity and opening up new worlds to young and old is access to the Internet," New York Sen. Hillary Clinton said in a statement. "For many people, especially those in underserved communities, the digital divide hasn't been closed. In order for people to realize the benefits of this technology for education, employment, and training, they must have the infrastructure in place. We must help bring the power of technology into people's lives, especially in underserved areas like the Bronx, with the hope that every family can have the tools for success in today's technology-rich economy."
New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn praised Brewer and others on the city's Broadband Advisory Committee for their work in trying to bridge the technology gap.
"Here in New York City," Quinn said in a statement, "many underserved communities won't survive in this new information age without the technical knowledge many of us take for granted."
By K.C. Jones
InformationWeek
Fri Mar 30, 5:20 PM ET
New York is the most dynamic city in the world, but when it comes to the Internet, lawmakers are concerned the Big Apple is stuck in the dial-up age.
"I want to figure out ways to change that and to use broadband to bring in jobs, help schools, and make the city safer," Council Member Gale Brewer said during New York's first hearing on broadband access Friday.
Brewer joined Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion Jr., Bronx Community College, and the South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation in convening the hearing on getting Bronx residents on the "right side of the digital divide." Brewer stressed the importance of affordable broadband, while Carrion stressed the importance of universal and reliable broadband.
New York's political leaders concerns about residents' ability to compete in a global economy aren't unfounded. Rankings released this week by the World Economic Forum put the United States in seventh place worldwide for "networked readiness."
The U.S. ranks 12th in the world for broadband users per capita, and, according to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, 27% of American households don't use the Internet at all. Increased age and lower socio-economic status make it less likely that people will have access to broadband, according to Pew.
The largest U.S. city has fallen behind other cities like San Francisco, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, Minneapolis, Atlanta, and Houston in terms of government-backed major broadband initiatives. The Bronx typically rates lower than other New York City boroughs on economic indicators.
"Today, one of the greatest catalysts for fostering economic opportunity and opening up new worlds to young and old is access to the Internet," New York Sen. Hillary Clinton said in a statement. "For many people, especially those in underserved communities, the digital divide hasn't been closed. In order for people to realize the benefits of this technology for education, employment, and training, they must have the infrastructure in place. We must help bring the power of technology into people's lives, especially in underserved areas like the Bronx, with the hope that every family can have the tools for success in today's technology-rich economy."
New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn praised Brewer and others on the city's Broadband Advisory Committee for their work in trying to bridge the technology gap.
"Here in New York City," Quinn said in a statement, "many underserved communities won't survive in this new information age without the technical knowledge many of us take for granted."
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