Cisco and Itron join forces to deliver smart grid platform

3 September 2010


Itron Inc. and Cisco have entered into a strategic alliance that will, according to the two companies, “advance the transformation of the world's energy infrastructure”. Together they aim to will deliver a definitive 21st century Internet Protocol (IP) based communications platform to the smart grid market and help advance more consistent and reliable delivery of energy across the electric distribution system and into homes and businesses.

Itron and Cisco - leaders in the smart metering and networking communications businesses respectively - are to collaborate on solutions that will bring forward smart metering technology into an open and interoperable, enterprise-class network for utilities. Specifically, the two companies intend to develop a standards-based, highly secure technology for full IPv6 implementation of field area communications to support smart metering, intelligent distribution automation, and interfaces at the customer's premises. Such an approach will help ensure consistent and interoperable wired and wireless communications among the various components of the smart grid, enabling utilities to scale to meet the demands of increasingly empowered customers and highly distributed generation portfolios.

“The alliance between Cisco and Itron represents a major step forward in the realization of a modern, more intelligent energy infrastructure. Together, we aim to enable standardization of the smart-grid architecture and help create an end-to-end communications platform. As a result, utilities will benefit from an energy grid that is more secure, scalable and reliable, as well as solutions that are easier to maintain and able to support future needs,” said Laura Ipsen, Cisco senior vice president and general manager for the Smart Grid business unit.

Under terms of the agreement, Itron and Cisco will jointly develop the reference design that defines a standard for smart grid field area and smart metering network communications, utilizing the latest version of the Internet Protocol (IPv6). A key standard identified by the National Institute of Technology, IPv6 integrates network security into its framework; allows for simplified processing of data by routers and other network devices; and offers a wide range of extensibility options over the current and widely-used IPv4 implementation.




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