Via Green Tech Media, an interesting report on Cisco’s intentions to provide “an end-to-end, highly secure network infrastructure solution” for the Smart Grid and everything it touches. As the article notes:
“…Cisco’s strategy is to ensure that there is one, consistent, IP-based infrastructure for the electric power industry – a standards-based foundation that will ultimately be able to connect any device to any other anywhere at anytime. In other words, an Internet for electricity. Cisco will provide some of the hardware, most of the networking software, and a few of the applications that run on top. It will turn to partners for the rest. Since Cisco intends to build on open standards, both vendors and customers will be free to build their own applications, just as they do today over the Internet.
…The entrance of Cisco, with its broad and ambitious vision, entering the Smart Grid space has several far-reaching possibilities:
- The dial tone effect. Today, grid connectivity is a patchwork cobbled together with a bunch of proprietary technology, each system different from the next. Tomorrow, we will see a true end-to-end “Internet for electricity,” where any device can talk to any other device at any location. Thanks to Cisco and the competitors that will follow it, it will be as reliable and familiar as the dial tone: You pick up the phone and there it is.
- Calming and energizing. Such consistency and reliability will have a calming effect on customers, and “revving up” effect on entrepreneurs and innovators. It’s like when Microsoft announced Windows 95 or Apple opened up the iPhone for applications. Customers could feel more secure that they would have a robust solution with lots of choice. And entrepreneurs could see that they would soon have a standard platform. By writing for that platform they could reach tens of millions of customers.
- The electricity economy. As a result, the future of the electricity industry may look more like telecomm 2.0 (think iPhone) and Web 2.0 – a networking foundation that carries applications and services. Once this possibility exists, the Smart Grid turns into the next vast infrastructure for delivering products and services and conducting commerce anywhere on the planet. It is that vision/possibility that has Google salivating.
- Misunderstood. Some people think Cisco wants to run the Smart Grid over the public Internet. That will rarely be the case. Instead, you will probably not send the signal over the same line that brings in your broadband Internet. Most utilities will probably use a separate (usually wireless) connection. Using Internet protocol (IP) doesn’t mean using the Internet itself.
Winners and Losers
Cisco is exceptionally skilled at working with and manipulating the standards process. In the cable world, Cisco worked with partners to help establish the DOCSIS standard for carrying data over cable lines. The move greatly benefitted Cisco, while companies that waited too long to get onboard went out of business. The same thing could happen to manufacturers of smart meters, substation equipment, and intelligent electronic devices. Although Cisco’s announcement specifically includes plans for legacy protocol translation, it’s unwise to bank on Cisco maintaining those indefinitely.
The message for vendors is clear: Engineer your equipment to work over IP or risk being shut out of Smart Grid communications. Similarly, utilities need to plan for an IP-based infrastructure. Any company who does not follow Cisco’s lead in communications protocols is putting their financial health at risk.
…In addition, the list of losers could also include the following:
- Utilities who may be disintermediated once it becomes easier to reach around them and go directly to energy customers….
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