2. Microwave Networks – Practical Considerations for
Electric Utilities
• First Wave Implementation – 1940s to 1960’s – Experimental Voice Grade
Circuits on low capacity 950 and 2 GHz analog baseband
• Second Wave – 1970’s to late 1980’s – low to medium capacity analog
baseband systems – still voice grade channels and specialized baseband
relaying channel for breaker protection on high voltage systems. Voice
applications secondary and not critical
• Third Wave – 1990s to 2008 – Digital Microwave, Conversion from
analog. Migration from 2 GHz to 6 GHz for cellular space. T1 and Sonet
OC1 and OC3 heavily implemented.
• Fourth Wave – Mid 2000’s to present day – Conversion from T1 and
SONET to IP based systems. From Layer 2 to Layer 3 transport, OSPF and
MPLS are primary conversions taking place now.
4. What Drives Private IP networks at Electric Coops
• No or unreliable
communications
• Security and Control of Circuit
• Critical Function Circuit or
Application
Fiber in Local
Telco Loop?
Private Fiber?
Private
Microwave?
12. TYPICAL SUBSTATION
SCADA , Relaying and Metering
System Control and Data Acquisition
Perimeter Security systems
Data needs are low less than 0.2 Mbps
are typical high side (excluding Video)
• Nodes in a typical electrical Substation
14. DESIGN
CONSIDERATIONS –
ELECTRICAL UTILITIES
Small Municipalities and Small
Electric Coops
- May have smaller needs and
budgets
- Or may be required to have high
reliability telecommunications
networks….
- Distribution Coops
- Transmission Coops
- Generation Coops
- Power Agencies
- Investor Owned Utilities
15. PLANNING ISSUES
Does the organization/coop have
staff to do the SCADA and Telecom
Network work?
Some want a contractor to furnish
everything
Some want project assistance and
then hand off to their internal staff
Many smaller organizations simply
do not know how to do planning,
design, implementation, and
maintenance.
Who is the decision maker or
influences the decision makers?
16. APPROACHES TO
CONSIDER
Potential clients are not the same from coop to
coop.
- Some will only buy equipment, some will buy
an entire network with maintenance
Needs assessment
- You may need to define scope and develop
planning for the coop, then do the rest…
- - or some may have partially developed
designs and want you to take over
How to approach the network
- Learn about the coop, each one is different in
organization and sometimes in functions
- Discover how to become a valuable and
reliable partner. It is almost never about
lowest cost, but highest value.