In a Plan released this week which could have implications for utility access to spectrum, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) identified 115 MHz of spectrum that will be fast-tracked for use for wireless broadband in the next five years, and it set a framework and timetable for freeing up 500 MHz over the next ten years. NTIA plans to prioritize certain candidate bands to determine which ones should be reallocated first. In addition to identifying the candidate bands for wireless broadband (including the 1695-1710 MHz band, the 3550-3650 MHz band, and two 20 MHz blocks somewhere in the 4200-4220 MHz range), the Plan outlines a framework to ensure that existing spectrum is being used efficiently (e.g. through a spectrum inventory) and that there are incentives for existing licensees to free up spectrum (e.g. through sharing and reimbursement for relocation/equipment). The Plan also lays out a timeline for the next five years, including a target date for identifying the first band of reallocated spectrum by January 2011. In addition to publishing its “Plan and Timetable for Making Available 500 MHz of Spectrum for Wireless Broadband,” NTIA also released “An Assessment of the Near-Term Viability of Accommodating Wireless Broadband Systems in the 1675-1710 MHz, 1755-1780 MHz, 3500-3650 MHz, and 4200-4220 MHz, 4380-4400 MHz Bands.” This report reveals information about the extent of use of these bands. For more information, contact the UTC Legal/Regulatory Department.

The FCC will be hosting a Spectrum Summit tomorrow, October 21, and a workshop on the Cybersecurity Roadmap on November 5. Read more »

(Washington, DC)  The Department of Energy’s (DOE) examinations of two big smart grid-related issues, consumer data access and privacy and utility communications needs, are now complete, DOE General Counsel Scott Blake Harris said today in announcing the top-line findings of these wide-ranging examinations.  Both of the DOE proceedings on this topic stem from the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) National Broadband Plan, released last spring, which asked the DOE to dig deeper into the central questions of consumer energy data usage and the future of utility communications in the smart grid era.

Data Access and Privacy

Speaking at a forum hosted by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, Harris outlined the major conclusions of the DOE’s report on smart grid data access, third party use and privacy issues.  In general, the various commenters in the data access and privacy proceeding were in very broad agreement, Harris said.  Among the areas of agreement for the various utility, telecom, technology, government and public interest groups who filed comments are: Read more »

The Federal Communications Commission’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB) seeks public comment on the creation of a Cybersecurity Roadmap, as recommended by the National Broadband Plan. The deadline for comments is September 23, 2010.

The notice rightly states that cybersecurity is a vital topic for the Commission because of the risk that unchecked vulnerabilities in the communications infrastructure pose for safety and privacy. The Plan calls for the Roadmap to identify the five most critical cybersecurity threats to the communications infrastructure and its end users, and to establish a two-year plan on how to address those threats. The Roadmap aims to identify vulnerabilities to communications networks or end-users and to develop countermeasures and solutions in preparation for, and response to, cyber threats and attacks in coordination with federal partners.

The Roadmap is an opportunity for utilities to comment on the high level of reliability and security required to run their internal communications networks that support the nation’s critical infrastructure. This effort to outline cybersecurity standards is one of the many being undertaken by the government as cybersecurity gets a larger focus. The Department of Energy and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) are also drafting guidelines for cybersecurity principles for the industry. Additionally, utility customer experiences with security will determine their adoption and demand of smart grid enabled energy data management technologies.

Per its recommendations outlined in the National Broadband Plan, the Federal Communications Commission issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) and a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) on its Part 101 rules with the intention “to remove regulatory barriers to the use of microwave spectrum for wireless backhaul”. While the documents have not been officially released yet, the FCC notice issued following its meeting today explained them as follows: Read more »

Today, UTC filed comments in response to the Department of Energy’s request for information on the communications needs of utilities and other critical infrastructure industries (CII) for smart grid and other CII communications. In its comments, UTC concluded that utilities and other CII would need access to 30 MHz of spectrum in a frequency range below 2 GHz to meet their current and future communications needs. These conclusions were based upon data from utilities collected by UTC in response to the RFI. UTC explained that this spectrum would accelerate the deployment of smart grid and other CII communications by enabling utilities to deploy wireless systems that are a key technology option, particularly for their Tier 2 distribution and Tier 3 access layers of their communications networks. UTC further explained that commercial telecommunications service providers would be able to support some applications, but that the majority of utilities would rely on their own private internal communications systems to support mission-critical applications, such as teleprotection systems. Finally, UTC emphasized that the need for access to spectrum is urgent, now that utilities are in the process of deploying smart grid and otherwise upgrading their communications in order to meet increasing demand and promote infrastructure security. For further information, contact the UTC Legal/Regulatory Department.

President Barack Obama signed a memorandum titled ‘Unleashing the Wireless Broadband Revolution’ that collaborates with the Federal Communications Commission to making an additional 500MHz of government and commercial spectrum available mobile and fixed wireless broadband use in the next 10 years. This goal of getting 500MHz spectrum in the hands of wireless broadband providers over the next decade is a key part of the National Broadband Plan that the FCC presented to Congress earlier this year. Read more »

(Washington, DC) Utilities and telecom providers should establish a more productive dialog in order to better build the complex communications networks needed for the smart grid to emerge. That was one key message coming out of the Department of Energy’s (DOE) roundtable discussion held here as part of DOE’s RFI on utility communications needs.

“It has occurred to me that we’re not on all the same page,” DOE General Counsel Scott Blake Harris said, urging utilities and telecom providers, as well as regulators, to work together to make smart grid benefits a reality. “The goal is to open up a dialog.”

Lynne Ellyn, Senior Vice President and CIO, DTE Energy, discussed the benefits of new technologies and grid automation, which have “the potential to make us more reliable, more responsive.” DTE Energy spends a lot of time with their telecom partners, although utilities have exacting requirements, she said. “Make no mistake about it. This is tricky stuff.” Read more »

UTC and Verizon will officially announce tomorrow a joint study of the communications needs of utilities. This timely and innovative analysis will identify the unique communications requirements of the utility industry to ensure safe, reliable and cost-effective energy grids for the 21st Century.

The study, which will kick off next week in Washington with a focus group of UTC member company representatives, is designed to encompass a wide range of factors that should be considered when designing and delivering the critical communications that will fuel the nation's smart grids. UTC members should find the study to be useful in not only articulating their own detailed communications requirements for internal purposes but also in communicating these requirements to technology partners. Read more »

Following yesterday's announcement about public hearings on utilities and Smart Grid, the Department of Energy (DOE) today listed expected participants at these discussions, the first of which is scheduled for this Thursday.

At this time, the participants include:

• Becky Blalock, Senior Vice President and CIO, Southern Company;
• Lynne Ellyn, Senior Vice President and CIO, DTEnergy;
• James Ingraham, Vice President of Strategic Research, Electric Power Board of Chattanooga;
• Kyle McSlarrow, President and CEO, National Cable & Telecommunications Association;
• Roy Perry, Director, Strategic Assessment CableLabs;
• Jim L. Jones, Vice President and CIO of Great River Energy in Minnesota;
• Commissioner Sherman Elliott from Illinois Commerce Commission;
• Mike Lanman, President - Enterprise and Government, Verizon Wireless.

UTC will continue providing updates as they become available.