Grid Net has announced key collaborations with GE Energy and Intel Corp., focused on providing smart grid solutions. Grid Net has been working with the companies to architect and produce open, standards-based, industry-leading Smart Grid products and services for utilities.

The companies have already established the key technological underpinnings for Smart Grid solutions, which include:

• An open, interoperable Smart Grid communications and networking platform based on WiMAX, a leading 4G wireless broadband standard, which is supported across the globe by the WiMAX Forum, a consortium of 522 industry leaders in the communications ecosystem, including Intel and Grid Net.
• Grid Net’s PolicyNet Smart Grid NMS software, of which core components are based on the Common Open Policy Service (COPS) engine and Intel WiMAX Connection software reference kit, enabling an open standards-based, reliable, scalable, extensible, secure, policy-based networking platform for the Smart Grid, and
• GE Energy’s next-generation WiMAX SmartMeter products, which integrate Grid Net’s PolicyNet firmware, and the Intel WiMAX Connection 2250 and Intel WIMAX Connection 2400 chipsets (formerly codenamed Baxter Peak).

“Implementing the Smart Grid requires a truly open approach, using the best products and technology,” states Ray Bell, founder and CEO of Grid Net. “Our focus is all about offering utilities a broader choice of better solutions, at lower costs. That’s why we’re pleased to collaborate with Intel and with GE Energy, and to leverage the ongoing innovations of more than 500 leading WiMAX technology providers into a Smart Grid ecosystem of open standards-based communications, utility transmission and distribution automation, and advanced metering products and technologies.”

"The deployment of Smart Grid solutions addresses the issues of a growing population and climate change by increasing the productivity, reliability, and efficiency of our current electrical power grid. In addition, these technologies will empower the consumer to manage their electricity spend and usage, which will enable all consumers to become a part of solving the energy challenge now facing our planet," says Bob Gilligan, general manager of Transmission & Distribution. "At GE Energy, we have made a choice to be actively engaged in developing these technologies to meet this challenge."

“WiMAX will enable innovative applications for a variety of industries,” said Sriram Viswanathan, vice president, Intel Capital and general manager, Intel WiMAX Program Office. “Grid Net and GE’s Smart Grid solution is a brilliant example of what we can expect from solutions built with WiMAX technology’s performance, cost-effectiveness and standards-based, open architecture.”

Smart Grids Require Truly Open Solutions

Grid Net is catalyzing an ecosystem of providers who believe that the optimal technology for implementing and managing the Smart Grid should be

• Built on open standards and protocols, so that utilities can choose the most innovative and cost effective solutions, and avoid “single vendor, proprietary product lock-in” seen in other solutions
• High performing and scalable, in order to cost-effectively manage tens of millions of customer energy service delivery points, meters, and other distribution automation devices
• Integrated, interoperable and optimized, to leverage innovations from all technology and product providers, the Smart Grid solution ecosystem of vendors, customers, and standards groups
• Resilient and adaptive, so that the Smart Grid can self-heal points of failure, or provision new services rapidly and cost-effectively – self-healing, self-provisioning, and self-optimizing
• Secure and reliable, so that Smart Grid devices and services are well protected, and meet both governmental and industry Smart Grid security specifications, guidelines, and recommendations