In February, CTIA Certification traveled to Orlando, Florida, for DISTRIBUTECH International, the leading energy industry event in the country. DISTRIBUTECH brings together utility and technology providers to showcase the cutting-edge technologies that power our homes and businesses. Over 18,000 professionals attended the conference, with more than 650 exhibitors from the utility industry.
Look at some of the highlights from our time at DISTRIBUTECH 2024:
Announcing the first certification under the CTIA Certification IoT Network Certified for Smart Connected Infrastructure™ Program
With Ericsson, we announced the certification of GE Vernova’s MDS Orbit under the IoT Network Certified for Smart Connected Infrastructure program.
Developed by industry experts, the program provides assurances to both device manufacturers and network operators of a product’s readiness to connect to cellular networks in critical infrastructure environments. This marks the first device certified through CTIA Certification and Ericsson’s joint testing program. The testing verified the resilience of the MDS Orbit in real-world network grid conditions.
We are proud to work with Ericsson to establish this program and set a standard for future device certifications, and we were pleased to be able to join them in their booth to talk to DISTRIBUTECH attendees. Electric utilities, engineering design firms, and device manufacturers all dropped by to learn more about IoT Network Certified for Smart Connected Infrastructure.
Highlighting Wireless in Utilities through the CTIA Smart Utilities Workshop
CTIA hosted the “Connected Utility Developments: From Strategy to Reality” workshop to explore how utilities are leveraging cellular networks to deploy advanced wireless solutions. Utility leaders from AT&T, Badger Meter, Itron, Signify, SouthernLinc, TerraGo, and Ubicquia joined CTIA’s Michelle James for a conversation about common challenges utilities face in their efforts to become tech-enabled and industry resources, like the CTIA Smart Cities Wireless Maturity Assessment, that can help. During the workshop, leaders discussed how they leveraged data to improve water operations, how safety and service were improved with the help of grid modernization, and how one utility gained the title of “most reliable utility,” thanks to cellular-enabled IoT devices and a central network platform.
Mark Sargent shared how the IoT Network Certified for Smart Connected Infrastructure program can help ensure the successful deployment of utility devices on cellular networks. Mark was joined by Steve Lowe, Senior Sales Director, Ericsson, and Brian Lee, Senior Product Manager, SouthernLinc, to discuss how utilities can benefit from industry-based certification programs and how certified devices can help increase cybersecurity, reliability, and resiliency on mission-critical networks.
We were thrilled to join DISTRIBUTECH 2024 for productive conversations on how our certification programs are important for smart utility deployments, and we look forward to the 2025 conference in Dallas.