On June 13 at an annual dinner in Washington, DC, FreeWave Technologies, Inc., manufacturer of reliable, high-performance spread-spectrum and licensed radios for critical data transmission, received the American Technology (News - Alert) Award (ATA) for outstanding achievement in the Smart Grid and Smart Instrument Category for its popular FGR2-PE wireless data radio.

Also known as the Termans, in honor of Frederick Emmons Terman, the widely credited father of Silicon Valley, the ATAs recognize products and services that have significantly advanced technology. They are sponsored by the TechAmerica Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to educating executives, policymakers, media, and the public on the size, scope, outlook, and impact of technology and to promoting technology led ideas that advance economic growth and U.S. competitiveness (see the video).

Boulder, Colorado-based FreeWave Technologies competed against two other smart grid industry stalwarts for the award—Opower, an Arlington, Virginia-based software as a service company; and Silver Spring Networks of Redwood City, California, which was nominated for its Gen4 Networking Technology.

The FGR2-PE wireless communications solution supports smart grid, electric power, and renewable energy applications and is well-suited for similar SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) applications in other vertical markets such as oil and gas and water/wastewater.

The platform’s future-proof combination of two serial ports and two switched Ethernet ports offers customers the ability to transition from serial to Ethernet data communication without having to replace their wireless communication hardware down the road. Moreover, users can operate both serial and Ethernet communication independently and simultaneously on the same platform. The deployment flexibility of the FGR2-PE solution also reduces the need for additional hardware.

"FreeWave is very appreciative to have one of its top-selling products for the smart grid honored for this very special industry award," said Ashish Sharma (News - Alert), chief marketing officer of FreeWave Technologies. "We take great pride in ensuring every single one of our products is based on not only meeting a clear customer need, but is thoroughly tested and put through the rigors of extreme temperature fluctuations before ever leaving our manufacturing floor. It is the reason why we have more than 800,000 radios working in the field today."

"The quality of nominees for this year's Termans is a clear indication of the vibrancy of the American technology industry and we are thrilled to be able to recognize FreeWave Technologies for its contribution to the industry and its outstanding achievement," said Jennifer Kerber, president of the TechAmerica Foundation.

The awards dinner featured keynote addresses from Juniper Networks' CEO Kevin Johnson (News - Alert), who received the American Technology Awards Corporate Leadership Award; and Richard Spires, the CIO at the Department of Homeland Security and the Government Technology Executive of the Year recipient.

Terman winners are determined by a panel of outstanding industry experts and technology leaders. For a list of the other winners, click here.