At the recent 2016 DistribuTech Conference in Orlando, the Utilities Telecom Council (UTC) met with AT&T (News - Alert) and Nokia to a new opportunity for telecom utilities. AT&T announced that it would offer a 15–year lease of spectrum for utilities to build a private, highly secure, reliable and high-capacity LTE (News - Alert) network to ensure the safe, reliable and secure delivery of their core electric, gas and water services. The new solution combines AT&T spectrum with Nokia (News - Alert) LTE technology.
“Utilities need access to radiofrequency spectrum because they have increasing communications needs for operational reliability, safety and security,” said Brett Kilbourne, VP, Government and Industry Affairs, UTC. “The opportunity to access spectrum on a lease-basis through AT&T and to leverage technology solutions from Nokia represents a possible solution for utilities to meet their increasing communications needs.”
The offering provides flexibility for utilities to choose different models for leveraging this spectrum, such that utilities may choose to build and operate the network themselves or they may choose to have AT&T provide communications services to the utility over the network. It also gives the utility the opportunity to leverage standardized equipment and expertise that is available from Nokia for use in the spectrum that AT&T is leasing.
“UTC looks forward to working with AT&T and Nokia on this exciting opportunity,” said Bobbi Harris, VP of Market Strategy and Development at UTC. “It is encouraging to see this development, because it allows utilities to maintain control over their communications for mission critical operations that ensure operational safety, security and reliability.”