Chloregy

Smart grid solutions company Trilliant has announced the SecureMesh Bridge products, which integrate a Wide Area Network (WAN) for distribution and a Neighbourhood Area Network (NAN) for metering.  The product is a direct result of Trilliant's acquisition last year of wireless equipment company SkyPilot and Trilliant claims that it’s the first fully-integrated private WAN/NAN solution for the smart grid industry.

Trilliant maintains that there are several advantages to this integrated network solution.  Firstly, it provides a dedicated private network, so there are no cellular costs (and uncertain coverage) to contend with.  It also extends connectivity right down to distribution, metering and consumer applications.  In addition, the integrated network uses multiple virtual network domains to ensure end-to-end security and Quality-of-Service (QoS) guarantees for each Smart Grid application. 

There are a variety of ways that you can build the ICT infrastructure that’s an essential part of smart grids and there’s no single right solution.  Much will depend on specific utility requirements and the IT/telecoms infrastructure already in place.  There’s going to be a lot of competition, with partnerships forming and reforming between major ICT companies around specific, significant market opportunities. 

Trilliant has a head start as a market specialist, though, and the focus on security and quality of service in this announcement is going to play to the concerns of many utilities.

Source: http://www.thegreenitreview.com/2010/03/trilliant-integrates-distribution-and.html