Ericsson opened a Global Utilities Innovation Center at its facility in Plano, Texas to engage with partners addressing real-world connectivity challenges for utility companies.
The Global Utilities Innovation Center is integrated with Ericsson’s state-of-the art device testing lab a short distance from the Plano site, 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. As a fully functional end-to-end operational lab, the center contains a physical representation of a utility smart grid, enabling real-world demonstrations of end-to-end private networks operations across the power grid from generation and transmission to distribution to end users.
“Utilities require mission-critical networks that have to be secure, reliable, and increasingly sustainable,” says Per Wahlen, Head of Business Development at Ericsson North America. “This center 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.”
