TMCnet News
Eastern Nebraska Chooses RuggedCom for Smart Grid Initiative project(Canada Newswire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) HOLLYWOOD, FL, Sept. 13, 2011 /CNW/ -RuggedCom Inc.,("RuggedCom") (TSX: RCM), a leading designer and manufacturer of industrial strength networks, in partnership with ABB Inc., a leader in power and automation technologies, has been selected to provide communication solutions for the Eastern Nebraska Public Power District Consortium's (ENPPDC) Smart Grid Initiative project. The ENPPDC consortium is comprised of Cuming County and Stanton County Public Power Districts. The ENPPDC project includes procurement of wireless communications, supervisory control and data acquisition software (SCADA), distribution automation software, intelligent reclosers and controls, automated regulator controls and irrigation load control devices. The idea is to connect redundant operation centers to substations and downline devices over a two county, 1000 square mile area, increasing system visibility for customer outages and reducing the time required to restore services. "Stanton and Cuming Counties are committed to advancing our distribution network infrastructure and becoming a smart grid leader," says Elwood Moore, General Manager, Cuming County Public Power District. "We are looking forward to working with RuggedCom and are confident that their products and expertise will make this project a success." RuggedCom will supply RuggedMAX™ standards based broadband wireless base stations and subscriber units to ENPPDC, making data collection and remote monitoring over large distances possible. The wireless network infrastructure will be connected using RuggedCom's RuggedBackbone™ and RuggedSwitch® product families and managed using the RuggedNMS™ Network Management Software. "There continues to be increased interest from electric power utilities for our multi-service platform, RuggedMAX™. The solution, which is based on IEEE 802.16e 4G broadband wireless technology and was intentionally built for mission critical applications, will be incorporated into the project and will ultimately reduce end to end latency and improve reliability," says Elik Jaeger, Vice President, RuggedWIRELESS. About RuggedCom Inc. RuggedCom is a leading provider of rugged communications networking solutions designed for mission-critical applications in harsh environments. RuggedCom's pioneering leadership in developing technologies and products for the electric power industry delivered the world's first IEC 61850-3 compliant Ethernet switch suitable for electric utility substation environments, the world's first IEEE 1613 Class 2 error free communication devices, the world's fastest network fault recovery and the world's first fully managed IP67 rated Ethernet switch. RuggedCom's technology solutions include Ethernet switches, network routers, wireless devices, serial servers, media converters, software and professional services. The products are expressly designed for use in challenging environments such as those found in electric power substations and smart grids. For more information, visit the RuggedCom website or follow the company on Twitter. |