Jon Arnold - Track leader Principal
ICP Strategies  | Wireless WAN Business and Policy |
Event Over
Before utilities leap into new services and applications, there are several fundamental issues to be addressed around the deployment of wireless networks. These networks are evolving rapidly, and to assess their value for WAN investments, utilities must first consider both policy and business case issues. This track focuses on three distinct aspects that provide some core context to support network buildouts. First are FCC policy issues that lay out the regulatory framework around where wireless networks belong in the world of electric utilities. Second would be the ongoing debate over the merits of public versus private networks, and whether utilities are better served building their own wireless infrastructure or partnering with existing operators. Finally, we will explore the role of wireless networks for integrating energy services within the broader sphere of critical communications infrastructure.
Ben Boyd - Session leader Vice President, Regulatory/Policy
EnerNex Corporation  | |
FCC policy provides the foundation for the role wireless networks can play as utilities modernize, and this session will present their latest thinking. With smart grid, wireless opens up new horizons and can fundamentally change the relationship between utilities and their customers. Never before have communications policies been so important for the future of this industry, and the FCC is in a prime position to set U.S. utilities on the right course for change.
Ben Boyd - Moderator
Vice President, Regulatory/Policy
EnerNex Corporation
Klaus Bender - Panelist
Director, Standards & Engineering
Utilities Telecom Council
Mike Wojcik - Panelist
Enterprise Sales Director
Verizon Wireless
Jackie McCarthy - Panelist
Director of State Regulatory Affairs
CTIA-The Wireless Association
Greg Ennis - Speaker
Technical Director
Wi-Fi Alliance
Berge Ayvazian - Session leader Senior Consultant
Heavy Reading  | |
Utilities have a solid history building their own wireless infrastructure, and this has served them well until recently. While there is a case to be made for continuing along this path, the partnering route is making inroads. Owning and operating has always been preferable, but in terms of meeting today’s wireless communications needs, mobile operators have the best networks. The debate between public and private networks is multi-faceted, and this panel is where you will find out which is best for utilities and whether in fact, they can peacefully coexist.
Berge Ayvazian - Moderator
Senior Consultant
Heavy Reading
Gary Stuebing - Panelist
Strategic Planning Manager
Duke Energy
Campbell McCool - Panelist
Chief Marketing Officer
SmartSynch
Mark Thompson - Panelist
Vice President of Strategic Development & Standards
Aclara
George Gamble - Panelist
Director
Black & Veatch
Kat Shoa - Session leader Principal
Kat Shoa Consulting  | |
Critical communications infrastructure that supports the likes of the military, emergency services and law enforcement is protected to serve the public good, and is not subject to everyday market forces. Electricity is a strategic asset for all modern economies, and adequate safeguards are needed to protect the grid in much the same way. One way of doing this is to allow utilities to share the dedicated spectrum and radio frequencies that support these essential services. This may be an afterthought to some, but by attending this session, you will understand the rationale for using wireless networks to integrate utilities with this broader infrastructure.
Kat Shoa - Moderator
Principal
Kat Shoa Consulting
Jon Sessions - Speaker
Chief Technologist
SAIC
David Witkowski - Speaker
President
Wireless Communications Alliance
George Flammer - Speaker
Chief Scientist
Silver Springs Networks
Howard Liu - Speaker
Network Architect
Southern California Edison
