Cellular South, SmartSynch target smart-utility market

Mississippi-based smart-grid company SmartSynch has come together with Cellular South to introduce an advanced communications solution for the utility market.

Utilities that are looking for residential code division multiple access (CDMA) support to automate their electricity grid can now access Cellular South’s CDMA wireless network services by using SmartSynch’s IP-enabled smart-grid solutions.

By combining its wireless data network — which currently accommodates more than 10.9 billion text messages and M2M (machine-to-machine) transactions annually — with SmartSynch’s technology, Cellular South and SmartSynch aim to make it easier and more cost-efficient to manage their networks.

“With today’s announcement, every major cellular provider is aggressively competing in this market,” said Stephen Johnston, CEO of SmartSynch. “Every carrier has a designated smart-grid team actively responding to request for proposals from utilities. This is a very real occurrence and it’s going to alter the course of smart-grid development for the good of utilities and their customers. Only cellular networks offer the bandwidth to support the smart grid applications of today and those that will inevitably surface as smart-grid technology rapidly evolves.”