TOKYO, JAPAN; RALEIGH, NC; LIBERTY LAKE, WA; ALPHARETTA, GA; and REDWOOD CITY, CA — May 7, 2012 — the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) of Japan, Elster, Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI), Landis+Gyr, and Silver Spring Networks announced today that the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) released the 802.15.4g radio standard, a global wireless networking standard enabling interoperable communications between certain smart grid devices, including smart meters and smart home appliances. The new standard represents a huge leap forward in establishing common and consistent communication specifications for utilities deploying smart grid technologies.
This standard, published on April 28, 2012 is an important fundamental standard for the largescale networks that characterize the smart grid. The standard’s baseline specifications for wireless communications will allow millions of devices to interoperate with each other in mesh, star, point-to-point, or any other topology.
Key industry players NICT, Elster, Itron, Landis+Gyr, and Silver Spring Networks were active participants in shaping the standard, striving to ensure backward compatibility with existing deployed devices, and ensuring that features necessary for long-term operation were represented. A significant, internationally recognized ecosystem contributed to the development of the standard and included smart grid platform providers, equipment vendors, silicon suppliers, electric and gas utilities, and government research, standards, and regulatory agencies. The standard is already supported by products from a large number of global vendors and is expected to rapidly gain worldwide adoption.
“True system interoperability, achievable by establishing open standards, will enable the future of Smart Grid platforms,” said Ed Myska, president of Elster Solutions. “As one of the leaders of the IEEE 802.15.4g effort, Elster will continue to drive open standards together with the global community. Our universal platforms are designed with 802.15.4g, enabling the greatest flexibility for utilities, and we will continue to drive development of future Smart Grid standards.”
“The smart grid is a complex ecosystem with interconnected devices, communication technologies and software. Standards help simplify this environment by enabling coexistence of multi-vendor components,” said Simon Pontin, Itron Chief Technology Officer. “As a global smart grid influencer, we’re advocating for standards that can be applied internationally as smart metering and smart grid continue to evolve at a rapid pace outside of North America.”
“The recent approval of the 802.15.4g amendment is a giant step toward making it easier for the smart grid industry to adopt interoperable wireless communications technology,” said Ruben Salazar, Landis+Gyr’s Director of Research and Technology. “This amendment is one of the critical building blocks of a standards-based communication stack that will allow Landis+Gyr, as a global smart grid leader, to continue to advance solutions with multiple vendors and applications that meet the needs of the various geographical and regulatory environments around the world.”
“It is very important to Japan’s smart grid and smart meter systems that the IEEE has approved the TG4g radio standard. NICT was one of the major contributors to this standard, and we look forward to similar cooperation in other IEEE802 smart grid standards activities,” said Hiroshi Kumagai, Vice President, NICT.
“Since our inception, Silver Spring has been committed to delivering an open, standards-based smart grid networking platform on behalf of customers and we were pleased to help address the critical need for an appropriate wireless standard to do so,” said Raj Vaswani, Chief Technology Officer at Silver Spring Networks. “We congratulate the global smart utility network community for coming together in support of this standard and enthusiastically support its expanding adoption.”