Municipalities across the country and indeed many countries around the world are rapidly deploying smart grid technology with mandates to have the systems in place by 2020. When it is in place, it will provide utility companies a better picture of the entire grid and connect consumers with smart meters. The connection with the smart meters will give consumers a tool for managing their power usage by directly connecting with the power company. With thousands of smart meters installations in every square mile, the communications network has to be robust and reliable. In order to ensure the reliability of the network, GE has selected Trilliant (News - Alert) and its SecureMesh communications technology to compliment the GE Grid IQ Solution as a Service (SaaS (News - Alert)) it is providing the City of Holly Springs, Mississippi.

The combined technology from GE and Trilliant will give the City of Holly Springs improved operational efficiency and reliability while at the same time engaging it citizens. When the city selected GE and it Grid IQ platform, it wanted a smart grid deployment without the expense of owning the grid assets and having to manage the deployment. With Grid IQ, GE will provide an end-to-end solution.

GE chose Trilliant's SecureMesh platform based on the proven application of the technology for more than 200 utility companies around the world. Trilliant provides energy efficiency, grid reliability, and lower operating costs while empowering consumers to manage their energy consumption.

SecureMesh is a flexible platform that allows utilities to phase in smart grid deployments taking into consideration smart distribution, smart metering, or smart consumer first. The platform is a combination of wireless technologies especially designed for the smart grid with the industry's lowest latency, highest bandwidth and most reliable solution. The technology is also designed to seamlessly integrate future smart sistribution applications such as volt/volt-ampere reactive control, fault detection, isolation and restoration, and other real-time distribution automation initiatives.

The newly-enhanced SecureMesh WAN 1100 Series provides:

• Utility-Grade reliability and redundancy with integrated dynamic routing and near-immediate failover to ensure uninterrupted communications
• UnitySuite Network Element Management System (NEMS), which provides a single platform for managing both AMI and WAN deployments
• Integrated end-to-end security compliance with the latest industry security standards, including NERC (News - Alert)/CIP, which is consistent with the requirements of NISTIR 7628 and NIST SP 800-53
• supports virtual private network (VPN) and Internet Protocol Security (IPsec) capabilities to enable safe and controlled access of the network

''We are confident that our advanced communications technology combined with GE's excellent smart grid leadership will help Holly Springs deliver the benefits of smarter energy to its customers." said Trilliant public power vice president Jim Hanson. GE Software is a contributor at the ITEXPO, taking place this week in Miami, Florida.