This research indicates that given the dilemma of US Department of energy awarding billions of dollars in smart grid grants while standards making bodies dither in providing the industry with standards, the power industry should look to the latest and greatest standards in telecommunications (Internet Protocol and 4G technologies such as WiMAX) to take advantage of federal dollars available for smart grid deployments while saving money on operating expenses. In addition, the deployment of a 4G network would enable the utility to offer wholesale and retail telecommunications services contributing new revenue streams for the utility while shortening the Return on Investment (ROI). 


Any smart grid is a telecommunications network for the utility and the communities it serves. 4G technologies provide any power utility with the most cost effective technology in monitoring the grid from power production to power consumption. Not only will a 4G smart grid read meters, they will also provide a range of cost saving services to the utility and the community as a whole. Mind Commerce's new research 4G and WiMAX for the Smart Grid: Enabling Access, Applications and Affordability proposes WiMAX as a Last Mile or 'Access' solution to provide a range of smart grid solutions or 'Applications' which, when compared with other smart grid technologies such as Broadband over Power Line (BPL) come in at less than half the cost per household reached offering industry leading 'Affordability' figures. The research indicates that given the dilemma of US Department of energy awarding billions of dollars in smart grid grants while standards making bodies dither in providing the industry with standards, the power industry should look to the latest and greatest standards in telecommunications (Internet Protocol and 4G technologies such as WiMAX) to take advantage of federal dollars available for smart grid deployments while saving money on operating expenses. In addition, the deployment of a 4G network would enable the utility to offer wholesale and retail telecommunications services contributing new revenue streams for the utility while shortening the Return on Investment (ROI). Any utility manager studying their smart grid options is no doubt concerned about the security of any smart grid network (foreign agents have been known to attempt to hack some parts of the US power grid), Quality of Service (QoS) issues, reliability of the technology and the potential for harmful interference to take down their smart grid network. This publication tackles those objections head-on in easy-to-understand language addressing both Last Mile and Middle Mile portions of a 4G smart grid network. Most importantly, the paper analyses a BPL deployment in Boulder, Colorado where the power utility deployed a BPL-based smart grid at a cost of $1,000 per household reached. The research finds that a more powerful, mobile, 4G, standards-based network could have been deployed at a cost of $440 per household reached. The financial analysis offers a worksheet for power utilities to determine return on investment. With its exhaustive analysis of 4G and smart grid, there is no other research currently available as comprehensive as 4G and WiMAX for the Smart Grid: Enabling Access, Applications and Affordability. 
February, 2010 

Executive summary -The 3 A's
Access: 4G as Smart Grid Access Technology
What is a 4G Network?
Standards Based Equipment
4G and Smart Grid
4G Last Mile Access: What is WiMAX?
Fixed vs. Mobile WiMAX
Utility Manager Objections to WiMAX
Interference
Good Quality of Service
WiMAX Reliability
WiMAX is not Wi-Fi
WiMAX Components
WiMAX Base Stations
Outdoor CPE
Indoor CPE
USB, netbooks, femtocells
Link budget and building penetration
Spectrum Considerations
Internet Protocol
Access Conclusion
4G Backhaul Overview
Wireless Middle Mile Solutions
Considerations for Wireless Middle Mile
Backhaul Requirements
Licensed Microwave Wireless Backhaul Solutions
Licenses protect the links
Gigabit Ethernet Wireless Backhaul Solutions
Quality of Service (QoS)
Interference mitigation
Frequency Reuse
Rain fades
Reliability/availability
Ease of Licensing: E-Band in the US
High Availability
Backhaul Conclusion
Wireless Backhaul Considerations
Comparisons with Fiber
APPLICATIONS FOR A 4G SMART GRID
What does a utility need?
Grid monitoring
Meter reading, remote turn-on/turn-off
Grid physical security
Monitoring and metering distributed generation
AFFORDABILITY: COST PER HOUSEHOLD REACHED
Capital Expenditures: Cost per Subscriber or Household Reached
Operational Expenditures
Unconventional Revenue Streams
Conclusion