Last Mile Technologies

March 2011

Roland Hill

Landis+Gyr (Pty) Ltd

Johannesburg, ZA

Introduction – Understanding the local LMT scene+ “Last mile technology” has evolved far beyond the realms of traditional

inbound/outbound AMR modems. It is now a complex and diverse multi-channel, multi-technology industry – in a crowded, poorly policed spectrum.

+ South Africa and Africa will have a mix of high end AMI smart meters based predominantly on European communication technologies, that must coexistwith a range of locally developed smart STS prepayment systems delivering basic AMI, DR and DSM functionality. Integrated service modes are expected.

+ The high end AMI industry is in a gradual transition from electricity meters with a communication facility to “smart” multi-part AMI systems based on sophisticated soft modems with an embedded metrology function.

+ The exodus from Utility owned AMR networks to public AMI networks due to the risk of stranded assets, is slowing as emerging smart grid functionalities depend on guaranteed operation during national emergencies.

+ Power Utilities & Power Pools are critically dependant on detailed, open industry communication interfaces & standards to ensure that all of the parts, products & systems from multiple (global) suppliers can be integrated into a continuously evolving enterprise wide, business management system. Such standards span multiple international & regional standardization bodies. Test & certification infra-structure is essential to ensure compliance.

Mar-11, 2 – Last Mile Technologies, R. Hill, African Utility Week, 2011

Online Communication – EU Reference Architecture

Mar-11, 3 – Last Mile Technologies, R. Hill, African Utility Week, 2011

Thorough standardization of ”all” communication inte rfaces is essential

Communication redundancy – RSA/Africa Prepayment

CommunicationsController (Suptalk)

Remote Access Terminal (RAT)

Split Prepayment Meters(MCU’s)

Customer Interface Units(CIU’s)

Prepayment Vending System(Suprima)

Ethernet(LAN)

WAN

GSM/GPRSNetwork

SIM APN

Distribution Automation Network (DAN)

Mar-11, 4 – Last Mile Technologies, R. Hill, African Utility Week, 2011

IF1 - STS

IF2 - XMLvend

IF3

IF4

IF5 IF6

IF7 –MVIL

IF8

Utilities ”must” ensure that all interfaces are thor oughly specified

Key technologiesGSM GPRS/EDGE UMTS HSPA RF-Mesh as island technology

RationaleGPRS/EDGE dominates market.UMTS HSPA networks increase.2G to 3G migration; as utilities

require future proof solutions and network operators need lower CAPEX and OPEX.

RF-Mesh deployment occurs only on a case by case basis. Time

1-2 year time horizon

3-4 year time horizon

4+ year time horizon

Key technologiesGSM GPRS/EDGE/EvolutionUMTS HSPA/HSPA+LTE starts picking upRF-Mesh as island technologyRF-P2P may gain traction in TV white space

RationaleGSM GPRS/EDGE/EDGE Evolution continues in parts of central & eastern Europe.UMTS HSPA/HSPA+ dominates in Nordics and picking up in central Europe.Operator deploys towards all IP network as readiness for LTE. RF-Mesh deployment continues on a case by case basis.TVWS pilots added for diversity.

Key technologiesGSM EDGE EvolutionUMTS HSPA/HSPA+LTE/LTE+ increasingRF-Mesh (ITU regulations?)RF-P2P may gain traction in TV

white space

RationaleEnd-consumer traffic moves to

internet & home gateways.Bandwidth demand increases.UMTS HSPA/HSPA+ still

dominates globally.LTE is eating into EDGE/

UMTS/HSPA+ markets.RF-Mesh adoption dependant

on spectrum & power levels. TVWS adoption dependant on spectrum allocation.

RF Technology Trends – European NAN/WAN’s

Mar-11, 5 – Last Mile Technologies, R. Hill, African Utility Week, 2011

Meters & Concentrators ”must” use modular/platform b ased modems

2G to 3G Migration Plans – European Networks

15 out of 21 countries , 3G has over 50% share of deployed networks2G turn off in Nordic countries can happen as early as:2014-2017

Mar-11, 6 – Last Mile Technologies, R. Hill, African Utility Week, 2011

RSA networks have confirmed 2G (GPRS) availability ”beyond 2020”

Key technologiesS-FSK PLAN/PLAN(+)OFDM pilotsLON (Italy)RationalePLAN(+) is today’s dominant

technology. Market requires faster data speed and lower latency in order to offer more services on a PLC network and to cope with more data sent over the network (e.g. profile data, multi-energy devices,

IP addressing).Many OFDM pilots underway.

Time

1-2 year time horizon

3-4 year time horizon

4+ year time horizon

Key technologiesS-FSK PLAN/PLAN(+)/PLAN(++)OFDM Prime/G3/P1901.2Fixed broadband (consumers)

RationalePLAN(+) will remain dominant.PLAN(++) doubles the PLAN(+)

data transfer rate.PLAN technologies coexist with

multiple OFDM networks. Newer technologies provide faster data speed, lower latency and direct access to the meter by its unique IP address.

Broadband PLC used for media streaming and HAN.

Key technologiesS-FSK PLAN(+)/PLAN(++)OFDM SDR modemsBroadband PLC case by caseFixed broadband (all users)

RationaleOFDM PLC becomes dominant

at a higher price point.Utilities expand PLC network application beyond AMI.Advanced PLC chip sets cater for NAN/backhaul use plus higher data rates for HAN area. This makes the meter/MUC a very low CAPEX & OPEX communication gateway between HAN and NAN.

Consumer appliance control and electric vehicle charging infrastructure technologies mature.

PLC Technology Trends – European NAN/WAN’s

Power Utilities ”must” manage City wide EMC disturba nce levels

Mar-11, 7 – Last Mile Technologies, R. Hill, African Utility Week, 2011

AHAM PLC requirements – Proposal to NIST PAP15

+ Functional applications (based on OpenHAN 2.0)

- Load control (shedding, scheduling, programming)- Price awareness (immediate, advance notification, static, cost of use)- Demand response (program participation, event opt in/out)- Consumption awareness (whole-house, per appliance)- Market messaging (promotions, message delivery)- Remote access (consumer control via the internet)- Installation & commissioning (discovery, registration, authorization)- User interface & network management (std GUI’s, diagnostics, upgrades)

+ Derived capabilities

- Latency < 100mS- Bandwidth > 32kbps- Energy efficient (device < 0.5W, comm’s < 0.3W, support standby modes)- Plug & play (standardised profiles, trivial installation)- Future proofing – firmware upgradeable- Coverage > 95% of home AC wiring (~ 100m distance)- Multi-phase – must cross split and three phase installations- Multi-dwelling – up to 30 devices per logical network and 126 logical networks- Compliance – support for transmit power control and a coexistence protocol- Diagnostics – standardised link layer status/remediation- Quality of service – Support for smart grid message prioritization- Security – logical link separation per physical channel, encryption to CSWG

Mar-11, 8 – Last Mile Technologies, R. Hill, African Utility Week, 2011

HAN Technology Trends – Consumer driven

Key technologiesWired/Wireless M-BusZigBee SEP 1.0/1.1WLAN 802.1 a/b/g/nBroadband PLC (AV)

RationaleMBus dominates multi-energy.ZigBee support & interest is

increasing.ZigBee will implement IETF IP

standards.WLAN dominates HAN area for

uses other than smart meters.BPL used for media streaming. Time

1-2 year time horizon

3-4 year time horizon

4+ year time horizon

Key technologiesZigBee SEP 2.0/HomeplugWireless M-Bus (NTA & OMS)WLAN+ 802.11 s/n, mimoBroadband PLC (AV & HAN)Medium speed PLC (green PHY)Plastic optical fibre (FTTSS)

RationaleZigBee/Mesh will be dominant

technology for smart metering. The Smart Energy Profile 2.x will be the dominant protocol for Smart Metering in the home. WLAN competes against ZigBee.

M-bus loses market share to other technologies because it does not scale well to the range of new IP based applictions.

Key technologiesWLAN 802.11 x/MeshNetZigBee SEP x.xBroadband PLCPlastic optical fibre (FTTH)

RationaleIPv6 (6LoWPAN)/ Mesh

technologies rationalizes fact that IP based wireless technologies becomes dominate technology for all HAN areas including multi-energy & home control.

Mar-11, 9 – Last Mile Technologies, R. Hill, African Utility Week, 2011

Consumer technologies will out pace Utility smart g rid ”evolution”

Personal Energy Management – Alive and vibrant

Mar-11, 10 – Last Mile Technologies, R. Hill, African Utility Week, 2011

Image courtesy of GreenTech Media http://www.greentechmedia.com/

Consumer PLC technologies ”must” coexist with all Ut ility LV uses

Conclusion – LMT’s are adapting to moving goal posts

– New Smart Grid use cases are creating new communication req’s (TC57/CIM)

• Higher bandwidth, lower latency, bi-directional connections from central system to metering devices and consumer. e.g. EPRI recursive grid, USA DoE (AMI, DA, DR, DER, EV, WASA) and GA.

• Where available, broad band infrastructure to the home (FTTH, cable TV) may be used as a communication channel for Smart Metering, but not for all smart grid uses e.g. Tele-protection.

– Transition to IPv4 (and v6) for benefits of internet/web connectivity

• Extra protocol overhead requires more bandwidth.

• Existing standardization and proven technology allows faster implementation of new applications.

• Other devices and industries will start to converge, creating a much bigger space for Innovation.

– Enhanced security and privacy

• Smart grid requires an end to end security solution to prevent attacks.

• There is a big push to use IPsec as a proven security concept.

• Strong opposition against „transparent consumer“.

– Merging of personal energy management (PEM) and home control messaging

• Access to consumption data, tariff control and consumer interaction with the energy management infrastructure.

• New players in the consumer electronic space will focus on PEM and home control.

Mar-11, 11 – Last Mile Technologies, R. Hill, African Utility Week, 2011

Clear trend to software defined modems and channel diversity

Thank you for listening...