Will WiFi and WiMAX become beneficiaries of the smart grid?
While more than $7 billion in broadband stimulus funds are expected to flow into the telecommunications industry to improve broadband coverage in unserved and underserved areas, some WiFi and WiMAX companies are also positioning themselves to receive another economic stimulus windfall. They are targeting the utility industry and positioning their technology to enable the smart grid–an IP-based system that will enable utilities to monitor energy use and consumers to understand their consumption habits. Some $4.5 billion is earmarked for smart grid projects, with potentially billions more coming from other funding provisions that have to do with energy. Last week, smart meter networking startup Trilliant purchased WiFi mesh network vendor SkyPilot. Trilliant said the acquisition will be a complement to its shorter-range “SecureMesh” technology, which is based on Zigbee, to link meter collection points. SkyPilot has developed a longer range mesh WiFi technology that can propagate up to 1
