Energie AG, an Austrian utility provider, picked Westermo cellular technology for upgrading 600 substations from CDMA 450 to LTE 450MHz. Westermo played a part in 2014 when CDMA was selected by Energie AG as the communication solution for the deployment of smart meters, and now CDMA is reaching the end of its lifecycle and the industry is shifting towards LTE, Energie AG decided to upgrade its private 450MHz network from CDMA to LTE technology.
The decision to use a private network was driven by cybersecurity concerns and the necessity of ensuring blackout safety. Additionally, maintaining a high degree of control over the network also played a significant role in this choice.
The features of 450MHz are well suited for the needs of Energie AG.
“The topology in our areas is very mixed – we have flat areas, hilly areas and very high mountains. What we have found is that the 450MHz frequency works very well in all of these topologies,” said Walter Pesendorfer, Head of the Radio Services Team, Energie AG.
Operating at a low frequency, 450MHz can cover a vast area with a reduced number of cell towers.
“For us, one of the biggest benefits of 450MHz is that we don’t need so many base stations, which is a big cost benefit,” added Pesendorfer.
Applications within the network vary from SCADA to smart meter aggregation. Energie AG is also using the technology to control distributed energy resources such as solar and wind farms.
The private specialised network will be comprised of approximately 8,000 Westermo devices for its communications, spread across the country. Westermo’s cellular routers are designed with the needs of utilities and critical infrastructure in mind. They include technology such as protocol conversion and integrated RTU functionality, which allows Energie AG to connect diverse assets such as Distributed Energy Resources and older equipment easily. The devices can convert SCADA protocols such as 101, Modbus, 104 or DNP3, Digital I/O into a unified format, making maintenance, operation, and testing more straightforward.
Project rollout
By the first quarter of 2024 the project implementation had been initiated. By June 2024, 10% of base stations have been implemented with the use of Activator, the proprietary automated provisioning and monitoring software from Westermo, which facilitates the deployment and management of routers.
“We are a small team with a lot of devices to manage, so the key for us is the management system. We rely on Activator and Monitor software for provisioning and monitoring. It is crucial for us, and we consider it the best on the market,” concluded Pesendorfer.
With a successful result, the green light has been given for the rollout of the remaining substations. Pesendorfer expected the migration process to be completed by end of 2026.
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