EnergyAustralia selects Ericsson to deploy LTE smart grid

 LTE is set to be an integral part of Australia's leading smart grid rollout with a new agreement between Ericsson and EnergyAustralia, the country’s largest energy provider.

Ericsson will design and integrate a multivendor wireless access network that will enable two-way communications between electrical control devices, back-end systems and households. The network will be rolled out across 150 sites in New South Wales.

This will be part of Australia’s leading smart grid rollout and will transform EnergyAustralia's electricity network into a smarter, greener and more efficient network. The telecommunications network will transmit data between 12,000 smart monitoring devices being installed on the electricity distribution network, up to 3,000 mobile field computers, and 200 zone substations.

EnergyAustralia will conduct trials of an LTE platform commencing in 2011, with the intent to migrate to a full LTE network. 

“Ericsson is delighted to partner with EnergyAustralia on this extremely important project.  Machine-to-machine (M2M) communications is transforming the utility sector and will enable smart grids to deliver instant information, giving households greater control over their energy usage, costs and carbon emissions, as well as supporting more renewable energy,” said Sam Saba, CEO, Ericsson Australia/NZ.

“As a global wireless leader with multivendor systems integration experience, Ericsson is well placed to partner with utilities as they transform their electricity distribution networks with current solutions and future wireless broadband technologies that will deliver even faster speeds and greater capacity,” said Mr Saba.

Under the agreement, Ericsson will provide equipment, software and services, and will leverage the Melbourne-based Ericsson Global LTE Competence Centre, and Ericsson’s deep local expertise in network design, planning and integration.

“We envision a world of 50 billion connected devices by 2020, and smart grids and smart meters will be at the heart of the evolution of M2M communications,” said Mr Saba.

EnergyAustralia was recently chosen by the Australian Government to lead the Smart Grid, Smart City demonstration project to test Australia’s first fully integrated, commercial-scale smart grid.

EnergyAustralia’s "Smart Home" demonstration home showcases the benefits of the latest technologies for consumers, including smart metering and intelligent infrastructure. More details can be found at: http://www.energyaustralia.com.au/smarthome

Ericsson is expanding its business in the utilities sector to meet the growing demand for telecommunications services and technology. At Acea, Italy’s leading water provider and second largest electricity supplier, Ericsson provides advanced metering management for its electricity network. The solution includes managed services, revenue protection, and systems integration. Endesa, Spain’s largest electricity utility, uses Ericsson to operate its entire corporate telecommunications network through an extensive managed services agreement.

Ericsson is the world's leader in telecommunications technology and services and is leading the way in the rollout of LTE. To date, Ericsson has signed commercial LTE contracts with eight major global operators, three of which are in the United States, the world's fastest growing LTE market. Ericsson has been driving open standards and has had the highest impact on the released LTE specifications. Ericsson expects to hold 25 percent of all essential patents for LTE, making it the largest patent holder in the industry.

LTE, the next generation of mobile communication technology, enables the fast transfer of huge amounts of data in an efficient and cost-effective way, optimising the use of the frequency spectrum. With increased speed and decreased latency, business and consumer users can benefit from a wide range of applications. 

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For further information please contact:

John Papanidis
External Relations Manager
Ericsson Australia/NZ

Mob 0401 237 854
john.papanidis@ericsson.com

Notes to editors:

Whitepaper:

http://www.ericsson.com/technology/whitepapers/

Long Term Evolution media kit
http://www.ericsson.com/ericsson/press/mediakit/lte.shtml

Ericsson LTE achievement list
http://www.ericsson.com/ericsson/press/facts_figures/lte_achievement.shtml

Our multimedia content is available at the broadcast room: www.ericsson.com/broadcast_room

Ericsson is the world's leading provider of technology and services to telecom operators. Ericsson is the leader in 2G, 3G and 4G mobile technologies, and provides support for networks with over 2 billion subscribers and has the leading position in managed services. The company's portfolio comprises mobile and fixed network infrastructure, telecom services, software, broadband and multimedia solutions for operators, enterprises and the media industry. The Sony Ericsson and ST-Ericsson joint ventures provide consumers with feature-rich personal mobile devices. 

Ericsson is advancing its vision of being the "prime driver in an all-communicating world" through innovation, technology, and sustainable business solutions. Working in 175 countries, more than 80,000 employees generated revenue of SEK 206.5 billion (USD 27.1 billion) in 2009. Founded in 1876 with the headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden, Ericsson is listed on OMX NASDAQ, Stockholm and NASDAQ New York.

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