SMART GRID WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY COMPARISON CHART

wireless choices for smart grid

Smart Grid is an enabling
opportunity for operators to seek
new market positions and revenue
streams in an all-important effort
to more intelligently and efficiently
address energy generation and
consumption.
Smart Grid operators can use
this comparison chart to clarify
the various choices for wireless
connectivity from access to
backhaul, for data or management
transmission, using any one or
combination of various technologies.

Aviat Networks offers advanced

wireless transmission equipment
including microwave backhaul
and WiMAX connectivity. We also
provide turnkey Professional
Services such as network design,
system integration and deployment,
network managed services
(including Network Operation
Center services) in all areas of
wireless transmission.
Our advanced networking and
transmission experts can help you
build your foundation for Smart
Grid and other intelligent efforts for
enabling wireless transport around
the world.

Microwave 5.8, 6, 11, 18, 23, 60-80 GHz

WIMAX (802.16 d/e/m)

Mesh (802.11 or 802.16)

LTE

Wireless metropolitan area network (MAN)

ecosystem including access, ASN and CSN for endto-end.

Outdoor wireless mesh network (WMN) is a

communications network made up of radio nodes
organized in a mesh topology.

Enhancements to 3G Universal Mobile

Telecommunications System (UMTS) mobile
networking, providing for enhanced
multimedia services.

IEEE 802.16d-2004, 802.16e-2005, 802.16m

IEEE 802.11, 802.16, operating on

FCC Part 15 Rules

3GPP Release 9

Company Headquarters
Aviat Networks
5200 Great America Parkway
Santa Clara, CA 95054

Description
High capacity point-to-point wireless transport for
backhaul or backbone of telecommunication systems.

Contact info:
Tel: 408.567.7000
Fax: 408.567.7001

Standards
FCC Part 101, Part 15

Contact sales:
smartgrid@aviatnet.com

w w w.aviatnetworks.com

HOW to use in Smart Grid

AMI Backhaul, SCADA Backhaul, Demand Response,
Mobile Workforce, Video Surveillance.

Last-mile access connection to residence and

building nodes; AMI backhaul, distribution
automation, demand response, remote monitoring.

AMI Backhaul, SCADA Backhaul, Demand Response,

Mobile Workforce, Video Surveillance.

Efficient backhaul of data - aggregating 100s access

points; QoS supports Service Assurance; Batterybackup improves reliability and security; Simple,
scalable network rollout and CPE attachment; Faster
speeds than 3G cellular; Large variety of CPE and
gateway/base station designs.

Non-line-of-sight, MIMO configurations, integrated

antenna to handle wide range of deployment issues;
Easily scalable; Mesh design allows improved
coverage around obstacles, node failures and path
degradation; Rapid deployment using unlicensed;
Security - SNMPv1/2/3 and data encryption;
QoS available.

Low latency, high capacity; Fully integrated with

3GGP, compatible with earlier 3GPP releases; Full
mobility for enhanced multimedia services; Carrier
preferred protocol; Low power consumption.

Point-to-point configrations only; Frequency

congestion in highly populated areas; Best for high
capacity , full duplex, transmission applications.

Limited access to spectrum licenses in the US;

Trade off higher bitrates over longer distances;
Assymetrical up and down link speeds; Bandwidth
is shared among users; Competing against future 4G
cellular standards for high-capacity, all-IP networks.

Increased delay/latency introduced by multiple hops;

Increased complexity of protocols (MAC, routing,
management, security); Mesh architecture increases
the cost and complexity of the network with each
additional node.

Not readily available in many markets/still in testing

phases in others; Equipment cost high; vendor
differentiation still unclear; Lack of expertise
in designing LTE networks; Utilities access to
spectrum.

3G Cellular

Power Line Carrier

WLAN (802.11b/g/n )

Zigbee (802.15.4)

Systems for carrying data on a conductor that is also

used for electric power transmission.

Indoor wireless local area network (WLAN );

home area network (HAN).

Low-cost, low power, wireless mesh standard for

wireless home area networks (WHANs) or personal
area network (PAN).

Several competing: G.hn/G.9960; IEEE P1901 (draft)

IEEE 802.11b/g/n; IEEE Working Group provide

support and update.

IEEE 802.15.4-2003; ZigBee Alliance maintains

the standard

Substation Automation, AMI Backhaul, Remote

Monitoring, Distribution Automation.

Home area network, home automation.

Home area network for energy management and

monitoring: Smart meters; Smart lighting, appliances
and electronic equipment.

Piggyback onto existing network of power

transmission cables, as long as cables can easily
reach population centers, residences, businesses,
etc. Viable business model for municipalities because
of close proximity to customers.

Low-cost chip sets - inexpensive consumer devices;

Widespread use and expertise - low-cost application
development; Stable and mature standards.

Low cost - for inexpensive consumer devices;

Low power consumption - up to 2 year battery life;
Self-organizing mesh network - secure, reliable
networking; Low data rates - network can support
large number of users.

Specilized equipment remains high cost; Owned by

power companies that might prefer to use microwave
or fiber and sell/lease excess capacity; Standards in
draft stages; Electromagnetic interference because
power lines are unshielded.

Small coverge and short distances limit widespread

use; Security issues with multiple networks
operating in same locations.

Smart energy specifications are still under

development; Developer must join ZigBee Alliance.

Backhaul and backbone transport for various

applications such as SCADA, AMI, Distribution
Automation and Demand Response.

Key Advantages
Wide range of available capacities, frequencies,
configurations; lower cost than fiber build; wellunderstood deployment and ROI models;
highly secure.

Notable Weaknesses

Description
3G includes wide-area wireless voice telephone, video
calls, and wireless data, all in a mobile environment.

Standards
UMTS, CDMA2000, EV-DO, EDGE

HOW to use in Smart Grid

AMI Backhaul, Communications Network,
Mobile Workforce

Key Advantages
Widely deployed, stable and mature; standardized;
equipment prices keep dropping; Readily available
expertise in deployments; cellular chipset very
inexpensive; Large selection of vendors.

Notable Weaknesses

SMART GRID
WIRELESS
TECHNOLOGY
COMPARISON CHART

Technology is in the transition phase to LTE

deployment; Public cellular networks not as stable/
secure for mission critical/utility applications;
Not well-suited for large data/high bandwidth
applications.

Aviat, Aviat Networks, and the Aviat logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Aviat Networks, Inc.
Aviat Networks, Inc. (2010) All Rights Reserved.
Data subject to change without notice.
_z_SmartGrid_ANSI_24Sep10

SMART GRID WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY COMPARISON CHART

Microwave 5.8, 6, 11, 18, 23, 60-80 GHz

WIMAX (802.16 d/e/m)

Mesh (802.11 or 802.16)

LTE

3G Cellular

Power Line Carrier

WLAN (802.11b/g/n)

Zigbee (802.15.4)

General usage
Point-to-point wireless transport for voice, data,
video, etc. for various network configurations
including Radio access network (RAN), WAN,
backhaul, backbone, trunking, etc.

Mobile broadband or at-home broadband

connectivity across whole cities or countries
(alternative to GSM, CDMA); Cost-effective delivery
to sparsely populated or underserved areas; Triple
play delivery - broadband Internet, VoIP and
IPTV services.

Popular for last mile, broadband access in

municipal and rural areas; Mesh networks support
improved reliability and scalability, can overlay or
replace copper-DSL or FTTH

Mainly for mobile carrier adoption; Next-generation

network for mobile telecommunication providing
high spectral efficiency, very low latency, improved
user experience.

Mobile handset, tablet connectivity for

voice and video calling, Internet access
and Mobile TV.

Also known as power line communication,

Broadband over Power Lines; Systems for carrying
data on a power conductor, for WAN applications;
Popular in Europe where power grid design
supports residential access.

Wireless networking for LAN and WAN; widely

used for indoor wireless LAN; Outdoor networks
implement mesh-like architecture for more
resilient coverage.

Targeted radio frequency apps requiring

low data rate, long battery life and secure
networking; In-between WiFi and Bluetooth.

2.3, 2.5, 3.5 GHz licensed bands;

450 MHz, 700 MHz also used

900 MHz, 2.4 GHz, 5.8 GHz (unlicensed)

700 MHz, AWS 1700/2100 MHz, IMT 2500 MHz, GSM

900 MHz, UMTS 1900/2100 MHz, GSM 1800 MHz,
PCS 1900 MHz, Cellular 850 MHz

GSM: 380 MHz-1.9 GHz;

CDMA/EV-DO: 800 MHz to 1.9 GHz;

The RF frequencies travel at frequencies of

1.7-80 MHz. Most providers rely on the 1-30 MHz
spectrum bandwidth for BPL transmission.

Unlicensed: 2.4 and 5 GHz;

Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS), OFDM

ISM: 868 MHz , 915 MHz, 2.4 GHz (unlicensed);

Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum coding.

Typical channel bandwidth allocations are 20 or 25

MHz (United States) or 28 MHz (Europe)

20 MHz for 802.11 a/g;

20/40 MHz for 802.1n

1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15, and 20 MHz, scalable carrier

bandwidths, supports both FDD and TDD.

GSM: 200 kHz;

CDMA: 1.23 MHz (1.25 MHz for EV-DO)

Wide band 1200 (Hz); Medium band 600 (Hz)

20 MHz for 802.11 a/g; 20/40 MHz for 802.1n

Nominal bandwidth of 22 MHz

3-4 miles; longer distances capable with

lower bit rates

Coverage at access points is similar to 802.11 b/g/n.

Distance between radio nodes varies between
frequency and line of sight (0-15 miles) or non-line
of site (0-3 miles) between links

2-3 miles radius (urban area)

5-7 miles radius (rural)

3-5 miles (hilly terrain)

up to 30-45 miles (flat terrain)

Distances of more than 15 km can be achieved over

a medium voltage network; In-building data rates
for Internet access, limited to short
distances <1000m

Indoor: up to 100 m;
Outdoor: up to 250 m

Up to 50 meters

Typical 4-16 Mbps

Data rates dependent on link distance; Optimal

data rates similar to 802.11 b/g/n (54, 48, 36, 24, 18,
12, 9, 6, 4,5, 3, 2.25, 1.5 Mbps); as high as 300 Mbps
for outdoor.

SISO peak rates of 100 Mbps (DL), 50 Mbps (UL),

min; 2x2 MIMO 172.8 Mbps (DL);57.6 Mbps (UL); 4x4
MIMO 326.4 Mbps (DL) 86.4 Mbps (UL)

cdma2000/EVDO rev B: Up to 14.7 Mbps

HSPA+: Up to 28 Mbps (DL), 22 Mbps (UL)

Data rates vary broadly - approximate DSL speeds.

Low-frequency (100-200 kHz) carriers: Few
hundred bits per second; Higher data rates mean
shorter ranges. Speeds up to 10 Mbps have
been achieved.

802.11b: up to 11 Mbps;
802.11a/g/h/j: up to 54 Mbps;
802.11n: >100 Mbps

20 to 250 kbps, depending on frequency band.

Moderate - CapEx is moderately high, OpEX is

low; various CPE designs available at commodity
pricing; Chip prices continue to drop in price.

Moderate - Mature technology: Low to moderate

CapEx, depending on capacity and advanced QoS
and routing features. Integrated antenna and
zero-footprint means installation costs depends on
number of nodes and gateways deployed.

High - early adoption stage in pricing for equipment,

products availability and development;
Spectrum costly.

Moderate - High. 3G cellular deployments will incur

growing, recurring costs per megabyte. No control
over network can lead to downtimes.

High - not widely adopted in North America: High

cost of implementation and lack of vendors. Typical
US city grid system is poor design for BPL - will
need 10x repeaters compared to similar size
European city.

Low - widely used and deployed in the consumer

market; Commodity pricing on chip sets.

Low - intended as a low cost, low power

product for low bandwidth applications.

Mature; 500+ deployments worldwide.

New 802.16m standard is proposed - up to 4x
current speeds.

Mesh is a mature technology with large variety

of vendors and devices, already widely used for
Smart Grid apps.

Technology demonstrations worldwide starting in

2010; Deployments currently in trial phase; large
scale deployments in 2-3 years.

Very mature but will be phased over to future

standards such as LTE over the next few years.

More popular in Europe than North America.

Both one-way and two-way systems have been
successfully used for decades.

WiFi is a mature, proven interoperable technology.

Wide variety of vendors and pricing structures
available.

Fairly new; specifications ratified in 2004,

ongoing specifications still in process.

Frequency Range
5, L6, U6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15, 18, 23, 26, 32, 38 GHz;
E-band 70-80 GHz;
Unlicensed: 2.4, 5.8, GHz

Channel Bandwidth
5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 80 MHz (ANSI/FCC)

Coverage capabilities
Depends on frequency and terrain, but point-topoint links are achievable up to 40 miles

Peak single user data rate

Capacity/throughput (per channel, per
polarization): typically up to 310/360 Mbit/s
TDM/Ethernet; Beyond 1 Gbit/s using cross
polarization, etc.

Cost
Low - Moderate. Lower cost compared to fiber
with greater ease of deployment. Cost/capacity
equipment costs declining; Infrastructure costs
including labor, tower space rent are increasing.

Technology Maturity
Utilities have deployed microwave networks
for decades due to its high reliability and high
performance network requirements.