RALEIGH, N.C., LIBERTY LAKE, Wash., ALPHARETTA,
Ga., TOKYO and REDWOOD CITY,
Calif., May 7, 2012
/PRNewswire/ -- Elster (NYSE: ELT), Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:
ITRI), Landis+Gyr, the National Institute of Information and
Communications Technology (NICT) of Japan, 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
large-scale 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 Elster, Itron, Landis+Gyr, NICT, 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."
About Elster
Elster (NYSE: ELT) is one of the world's largest
electricity, gas and water measurement and control providers. Its
offerings include distribution monitoring and control, advanced
smart metering, demand response, networking and software solutions,
and numerous related communications and services - key components
for enabling consumer choice, operational efficiency and
conservation. Its products and solutions are widely used by
utilities in the traditional and emerging Smart Grid markets.
Elster has one of the most extensive installed revenue measurement
bases in the world, with more than 200 million metering devices
deployed over the course of the last 10 years. It sells its
products and services in more than 130 countries across
electricity, gas, water and multi-utility applications for
residential, commercial and industrial, and transmission and
distribution applications. For more information about Elster,
please visit http://www.elster.com/.
About Itron
Itron is a leading provider of energy and water resource
management solutions for nearly 8,000 utilities around the world.
We offer end-to-end solutions that include electricity, gas, water
and thermal energy measurement and control technology;
communications systems; software; and professional services. With
more than 9,000 employees doing business in more than 130
countries, Itron empowers utilities to responsibly and efficiently
manage energy and water resources. To realize a sustainable future,
start here: www.itron.com.
About Landis+Gyr
Landis+Gyr is the leading global provider of integrated
energy management products tailored to energy company needs and
unique in its ability to deliver true end-to-end advanced metering
solutions. Today, the Company offers the broadest portfolio of
products and services in the electricity metering industry, and is
paving the way for the next generation of smart grid. With
annualized sales of more than US$1.5
billion, Landis+Gyr, a standalone growth platform of the
Toshiba Corporation (TKY:6502) and 40% owned by the Innovation
Network Corporation of Japan,
operates in 30 countries across five continents, and employs 5,000
people with the sole mission of helping the world manage energy
better. More information is available at landisgyr.com.
About NICT
The National Institute of Information and Communications
Technology (NICT) is the sole administrative agency of ICT in
Japan. NICT promotes the full spectrum of research and
development from basic to applied research with an integrated
perspective, and thus promotes the advancement of Japan as an intellectual nation that leads the
international community. Moreover, NICT forms close ties with
the academic and business communities in Japan as well as with research institutes
overseas and returns its R&D findings to society in a broad
range of fields. For more information visit
www.nict.go.jp/en/index.html
About Silver Spring Networks
Silver Spring Networks is a leading smart grid networking
platform technology and solutions provider. We have connected over
11 million homes and businesses throughout the world with the goal
of achieving greater energy efficiency for the planet. Our
innovative products enable utilities to gain efficiencies,
integrate renewable energy sources and empower customers to monitor
and manage energy consumption. Silver Spring Networks clients
include Baltimore Gas & Electric, CitiPower & Powercor,
Florida Power & Light, Jemena
Electricity Networks Limited, Pacific Gas & Electric and Pepco
Holdings, Inc. among others. For more information please
visit www.silverspringnet.com.
SOURCE Elster; Itron; Landis+Gyr; NICT; Silver Spring
Networks
