EMAIL DETAILS

Good idea. Blackberry saved the pager network and SMS back in the day when HP and MSFT were trying to kill SMS with 1st gen smart phones and having to log in all the time.

Maybe a lower cost option that Utilities could subsidize or cover - perhaps with Stimulus dollars ala our 4tell call.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected]
Date: Tue, 4 May 2010 22:16:18
To: <[email protected]>; Eric D. Schwerin<[email protected]>; Hunter Biden<[email protected]>; Michael Muldoon<[email protected]>
Subject: Re: SmartSynch Continues to Make the Case for Cellular

Merel yes, but also may be applicable to Baker with Airvana. If Air wanted to increase applicable life of 3G maybe it becomes smart grid frequency post consumer...let's have a call tomorrow.

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected]
Date: Tue, 4 May 2010 22:07:17
To: Eric Schwerin<[email protected]>; Hunter Biden<[email protected]>; Devon Archer<[email protected]>; Mike Muldoon<[email protected]>
Subject: Re: SmartSynch Continues to Make the Case for Cellular

Devon - isn't there a cellular connection via (thinkbright) David Merel via Israel?

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

-----Original Message-----
From: Eric Schwerin <[email protected]>
Date: Tue, 4 May 2010 18:03:53
To: Hunter Biden<[email protected]>; [email protected] Archer<[email protected]>; Mike Muldoon<[email protected]>; Neil Callahan<[email protected]>
Subject: SmartSynch Continues to Make the Case for Cellular

SmartSynch Continues to Make the Case for Cellular
After a successful trial using cellular networks for home metering systems, SmartSynch says cellular is here to stay.


SmartSynch wants you to know that cellular is here to compete in home smart metering,

The Jackson, Miss.-based company and AT&Trecently completed their first residential smart meter pilot. The 10,000-meter trial with Texas-New Mexico Power reported a 99.96 daily read rate since its inception last fall with readings carried out in 15-minute intervals.

"The success of this deployment completely validates using public wireless networks for residential smart metering," Stephen Johnston, SmartSynch's chief executive officer, said in a statement.

However, the pilot is still far smaller than many of the other meter rollouts currently going on. Pacific Gas & Electric, for example, has already deployed 5.5 million meters, and Florida Power & Light has plans to install more than 4 million meters.

Public cellular networks are already used by many utilities for back-end communications, which would make them a seemingly obvious choice for connecting home smart meters to the utilities; however, most residential smart meter deployments so far have used radio frequency mesh systems.

There have been concerns over the cost issues associated with cellular networks, but Johnston says that is changing.

"Now that this technology is cost competitive, it's hard to envision a utility choosing a more complex, costly and proprietary alternative," said Johnston. "The advantages of using public wireless smart metering technology are becoming indisputable."

However, not everyone agrees. Certainly vendors such as Silver Spring Networks and Trilliant that use wireless mesh or Grid Net, which supports WiMax and advanced broadband, would debate whether the case for cellular is closed.

Radio mesh giant Silver Spring is arguably the front-runner of smart grid network providers with contracts in California, Texas, Australia and various other places, while General Electric is also still sticking with WiMax. SmartSynch recently partnered with the Tennessee Valley Authority to serve as the communications backbone for its renewable program, suggesting that its open, cellular-based system is gaining a fan base.


Eric D. Schwerin
Rosemont Seneca Partners, LLC
1010 Wisconsin Ave., NW
Suite 705
Washington, DC 20007
(202) 333-1880
[email protected]
P Consider the environment before printing this email.