Ameren plans move to private LTE network to bolster reliability, resiliency
Ameren Corp., a Fortune 500 investor-owned energy company providing services to some 2.4 million electric customers and 900,000 natural gas customers in Illinois and Missouri, recently signed a letter of intent to lease 900 megahertz (MHz) broadband spectrum to deploy a private LTE network that will carry critical communications services.
Ameren intends to use a private LTE network for a wide range of applications that will later be expanded, according to Bhavani Amirthalingam, senior vice president and chief digital information officer for Ameren.
“To enable the grid of the future, the system requires a smarter, stronger and more secure communications network with far greater bandwidth,” Amirthalingam said earlier this month in a statement. “Ameren envisions a future where broadband plays a key role in the control and management of our network, providing enhanced communication with co-workers, resulting in a better experience for our customers.”
Currently, the 900 MHz band is designated for narrowband private land mobile radio communications and is primarily used for two-way dispatch radio communications by utility, transportation, and manufacturing companies, among others.
But the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is poised soon to issue a decision on a 2019 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to subdivide the 900 MHz band into a broadband segment and two narrowband segments, establishing a broadband channel to directly provide or lease service to critical infrastructure firms.
On April 7, Ameren announced its letter of intent with publicly traded Anterix, one of the nation’s largest licensed spectrum holders in the 900 MHz band, for a long-term lease of 900 MHz broadband spectrum.
Anterix, when it was known as pDV, in 2014 petitioned the FCC for the rulemaking to establish the new broadband allocation, proposing that site-based 900 MHz licensees in this part of the band be relocated to similar frequencies in the narrowband segment. At the same time, pDV/Anterix bought up numerous 900 MHz licenses in some of the nation’s largest metropolitan areas and started working on agreements with narrowband licenses to acquire their 900 MHz licenses.
By securing access and leasing Anterix’s low-band 900 MHz spectrum — which would be enabled through the FCC’s proposed rulemaking — Ameren wants to create its own private network to ensure resilient communications systems, a company spokesperson confirmed to Daily Energy Insider on April 17.
“Yes, Ameren is building a highly standardized LTE network using current technologies,” the spokesperson wrote in an email. “While we already have private networks, moving to a private LTE network provides reliability, security and a scalable product for future needs in grid management.”
Publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange, Ameren is the parent company of Ameren Illinois, based in Collinsville, Ill., and Ameren Missouri in St. Louis. In total, the company employs more than 9,000 people and in Missouri ranks as the largest electric power provider, while ranking as Illinois’ third-largest natural gas distribution operation in total number of customers.
The Ameren spokesperson said the company’s pending agreement with Anterix will greatly benefit both Ameren and its customers.
“Ameren is committed to investments that ensure the electric grid delivers clean and reliable energy,” wrote the spokesperson. “The letter of intent signed with Anterix is one step in that direction. When we own the technology, we are able to lower operating costs and build the capabilities needed for Ameren customers now and in the future. Building a network like this enables Ameren to better support energy efficiency programs and eventually more customer choices on energy.”
Ameren utilizes public telecommunications networks for many solutions and plans to continue partnering with carriers for specific needs, according to the spokesperson.
“Public carriers do not provide enough coverage across our entire service territory for all of our needs,” the spokesperson wrote. “We worked with public carriers to analyze and even partner in testing [a private] LTE. As we’ve seen in previous natural disasters, carriers can have bandwidth and latency issues, which a private network could avoid.”
In fact, Ameren Missouri in February 2019 successfully piloted a private LTE network in support of its Smart Energy Plan, which includes more than 2,000 electric projects over the next five years that will modernize the energy grid and enhance how customers receive and use electricity while maintaining electric rates.
The pilot demonstrated 14 different use cases leveraging Anterix’s spectrum under an FCC experimental license, according to the company.
“There will be a continued need for additional spectrum or capacity among utilities. That’s why we continue to participate in industry research through the Electric Power Research Institute, Utilities Technology Council and Edison Electric Institute,” according to the Ameren spokesperson.
Anterix President Rob Schwartz said in a statement this month that Ameren has been leading the industry in evaluating and piloting 900 MHz broadband solutions.
“Its success with solving key use cases has demonstrated real-world benefits that can enable Ameren to modernize its electric grid for generations to come,” he said, adding that Ameren’s letter of intent “represents a critical step in solving the unique private broadband needs of utilities, paving the way for the adoption of utility private LTE networks to enable secure, reliable and resilient communication networks across the nation.”
