Ericsson’s innovation centre to remedy smart grid connectivity challenges
Ericsson has announced the opening of its Global Utilities Innovation Centre at its facility in Plano, Texas. The new facility consists of a purpose-built operating lab and demo environment locations for utilities to engage and solve smart grid connectivity challenges.
The Centre is integrated with Ericsson’s device testing lab, where utilities and original equipment manufacturers (OEM) partners can test interoperability of their field and IoT devices over mission-critical networks in a safe and secure environment.
According to Ericsson, the Centre contains a physical representation of a utility smart grid, enabling real-world demonstrations of end-to-end private network operations across the power grid from generation and transmission to distribution to end users.
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“Private cellular networks are principal catalysts for utilities in their digital transformation journey to address multiple use cases, and utilities can now leverage our Global Utilities Innovation Centre to experiment with different 4G and 5G use cases and co-create with our ecosystem partners,” says Koustuv Ghoshal, vice president and head of utilities, energy & industrials at Ericsson North America. “We look forward to partnering with utilities around the world on their grid modernisation journey.”
Per Wahlen, head of business development at Ericsson North America, added: “Utilities require mission-critical networks that have to be secure, reliable, and increasingly sustainable.
“This Centre is a state-of-the art facility where we can work closely with utility companies, exploring new 4G and 5G use cases and delivering end-to-end solutions. At each point, you can see the benefits of the latest generations of cellular wireless networks in enhancing security, resilience, and efficiency of the power infrastructure.”
According to Ericsson, the Innovation Centre is a learning platform for exchanging information and ideas between the utilities, Ericsson, and the industry itself.
The environment also allows for co-creation with Ericsson partners while utilities replicate their end-to-end use cases.
The Centre includes the Ericsson Experience Center in Plano, Texas, and Ericsson Labs in Richardson, Texas.
