News
A new partnership aims to provide private network solutions to electric co-ops across the United States.
By: Brad Randall, Broadband Communities
Four organizations are coming together for a common mission in a new partnership aimed at delivering uninterrupted connectivity to electric co-ops.
The partnership involves Ericsson, the National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative (NRTC), Southern Linc, a wireless communications company, and Anterix, the largest holder of licensed spectrum in the 900 MHz band in the lower 48, a recent announcement stated.
The partnership’s mission, according to Southern Linc Engineering Director Alan McIntyre, is “to empower electric cooperatives to build a robust and future-proof network infrastructure that can withstand the demands of the modern world.”
McIntyre was quoted in an announcement detailing the partnership, announced on Aug. 6.
“By collaborating with Ericsson and NRTC, we are ensuring that utilities of all sizes have access to the latest private network solutions, enabling them to deliver highly reliable service to their communities,” McIntyre said.
The Aug. 6 announcement explained more detail about the nature of the partnership.
“NRTC will augment its existing fiber design and construction capabilities with Ericsson’s expertise in cellular and microwave communications technologies, Southern Linc’s core hosting solutions, and Anterix’s 900 MHz spectrum as well as their 115+ member Active Ecosystem, to provide mission-critical smart-grid network solutions designed to meet members’ specific use case, geographic, and deployment requirements,” the announcement stated.
Joe Walsh, NRTC’s VP of smart-grid networking, said his organization was thrilled about the news.
“This collaboration closes a critical gap that rural electric cooperatives will face as they modernize their grid infrastructure,” he said. “Together, we’re forging a path towards unparalleled connectivity, resilience, and security, ensuring that communities across the U.S. have access to the cutting-edge solutions they need to thrive.”
The announcement claimed the partnership would offer new standards for reliability, resilience, and security, along with job growth.
According to Alice Moy-Gonzalez, SVP of Strategic Development at Anterix, the partnership “will deliver significant scale and scope benefits to our nation’s electric cooperatives as they develop and deploy private LTE networks.”
She said the partnership would allow NRTC’s utility cooperatives the ability to access Anterix’s 900 MHz spectrum, and their 900 MHz platform and solutions.
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