Multiple smart city solutions powered by Semtech’s PLC Platform

The launch of the G3-PLC with Southern Grid marks the beginning of OFDM roll out in China. With nearly all PLC deployments currently based on older FSK technology, both the State Grid and Southern Grid are evaluating the broader deployment of OFDM technologies to enable higher frequency of meter reads for better demand management, including enabling consumers to monitor their energy usage. With nearly 400m utility customers, Southern Grid covers five provinces and has more than 36m utility customers, while State Grid has over 350m.

“We selected Semtech as our AMI technology partner for OFDM PLC roll out in Southern Grid due to the superior performance of Semtech’s modems under challenging network conditions and the fact that Semtech offered the highest density and the lowest bill of material for its external circuitry,” said Michael Wang, Sr. VP and Chief Technology Officer, Wasion. “Integrating Semtech’s multi-protocol modems allow us to run a G3-PLC PHY while supporting the legacyDL/T645 and Q/GDW376.2 modem interfaces used in Southern Grid.”

“We are very pleased to have been selected by Wasion as their strategic AMI technology partner for Southern Grid,” said Reza Mirkhani, Vice President of Smart Grid Products, Semtech. “Wasion, with its long history in Smart Meter development, is one of the largest vendors of meters and advanced AMI solutions in the industry. We look forward to a strong Partnership with Wasion as they roll out the first G3-PLC OFDM-based AMI network with Southern Grid.”

“China’s rapid movement towards communicating meters makes it by far the largest market worldwide by volume,” commented Jacob Pereira, Senior Analyst, Smart Utilities Infrastructure, IHS. “We estimate that nearly half of all electricity meters shipped globally, and more than two-thirds of those shipped in the Asia Pacific region, in 2014 were installed in China.”