The New York Power Authority (NYPA) is piloting a private LTE network at its Blenheim-Gilboa hydroelectric plant in Gilboa, N.Y., Schoharie County, as a part of its Vision 2020 plan to become the nation's first all-digital utility and leverage connectivity.
The private LTE system is based on 900-MHz broadband spectrum provided by Anterix. The network will focus on a variety of use cases, including connectivity for NYPA's repair crews, designated "Digital Utility Workers" and support for emerging technologies such as using drones to safely monitor and inspect NYPA generation and transmission assets.
“Through this innovative initiative, NYPA is demonstrating continued leadership in its effort to become the ‘first end-to-end digital utility’ in the country,” said Anterix President and CEO Rob Schwartz. “A resilient and scalable private broadband network enables a utility to transport its essential data reliably and securely. Private LTE, as a global standard, allows the forward compatibility to address the wide range of current and future use cases that NYPA and utilities throughout the country will face as they modernize their networks.”
“Creating a resilient and redundant private communications system is key to our nation-leading digital strategy,” said Gil C. Quiniones, president and CEO of NYPA. “With the help of the Anterix team, and the support and collaboration of more than a dozen utilities across the nation with whom we have compared notes on LTE deployment, we are excited to pilot a range of use cases at 900 MHz. We believe that collective action by the utility sector embracing private LTE will lead to a broader range of benefits both for utilities and our customers.”
Anterix will provide NYPA with the necessary consent for the use of its spectrum holdings in the 900-MHz Band Class 8 pursuant to a broadband experimental license filed before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). This is the second FCC Experimental License that NYPA has pursued involving Anterix 900-MHz spectrum as NYPA continues to expand the potential use cases to be supported on its private LTE system.
