Narrowband PLC solutions for AMI achieve long distance communications and flexibility with immediate market impact

The critical components enabling affordable and wide scale Smart Grid deployment are semiconductors, software, and standards. Diverse requirements associated with 1000's of utilities and the multitude of international regulations dictate that software-enabled solutions be widely employed. In the case power line communications, a "software defined" PLC is an essential to fuel the smart grid. Over the past year, we have seen the emergence of low frequency, narrowband power line communications (LF NB PLC) technology as a crucial and pervasive element of the Smart Grid. First, advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) communications does not require multi-megabit, broadband speeds; rather AMI requires "moderate" bitrates to simultaneously service a large number of residences and businesses. Secondly, broadband PLC emissions in outdoor environments have been a concern recently [1]. LF NB PLC devices do not have significant emissions issues. The Electric Vehicle (EV) is another PLC application that requires moderate bitrates less than 1Mbps. Finally, the home area network (HAN), which serves the smart grid market, is an application where LF NB PLC meets the needs.