Telecom
CRN Focuses on Co-op Telecom Needs
For current and future telecom needs, electric cooperatives must design a system “you can build, you can maintain, and that scales with the utility,” noted John Hewa, NRECA vice president for engineering and technical services, during a Cooperative Research Network Virtual Expo & Symposium session, “The Challenges of Utility Based Telecom Systems.”
While telecom technologies are constantly changing, co-ops’ needs preclude “the option of sitting on the side,” an industry leader emphasized. (Photo By: Tap 10)
Hewa, whose perspective comes from designing and constructing utility telecom-based systems, said co-op legacy telecom systems often struggle to keep up with emerging data needs, and planners should look at several technologies before settling on a platform for future smart grid advancements.
The telecom requirements are one of the most important factors in ultimately selecting a smart grid platform that will meet the needs and demands of a co-op service territory, he said.
While co-ops traditionally have been in the business of planning for long-lived assets, he added, “In many cases, telecom needs and support can be overlooked in this process.”
He suggested that significant resources be committed to forecasting the utility’s telecom needs, as members’ expectations for receiving information has changed.
Co-ops face multiple challenges in the telecom sector, session participants pointed out. Moderator Craig Miller, a CRN senior program manager, noted that many of the technologies with which co-ops are dealing “are changing under our feet.”
But with much of what is now in the field inadequate and nearing the end of its life, he added, “We don’t have the option of sitting on the side.”
The challenges don’t end with technology, said Tracey Steiner, NRECA deputy chief member counsel. “Regulatory policy is also going to be a factor in the decisions that cooperatives make in deploying their next generation telecom network.”
Co-ops have no dedicated radio spectrum and have, in fact, lost spectrum over the last two decades, she pointed out. A big federal push to “free up” spectrum for broadband uses—smart phones, tablets, PDAs and the like—is under way.
Steiner added, “Utilities’ spectrum needs are not at the top of the mind at the Federal Communications Commission, despite advocacy efforts to highlight those needs.”
The CRN symposium has been archived and is available on demand through May 31 to registered users of cooperative.com.