Landis+Gyr Announces Next Generation Gridstream Solution

ATLANTA, Jan. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Landis+Gyr, the world's largest smart meter solutions provider, today announced the launch of their Series V next generation Gridstream(TM) smart grid technology aimed at providing utilities with a market leading solution through an upgradeable platform capable of adapting to future applications and communication protocols — all without stranding existing assets.

Landis+Gyr’s Gridstream Series V offering allows utilities to adopt an open, interoperable, and highly-secure smart grid solution that will deliver the highest performance and reliability in the industry. In addition, it provides a clear migration path for existing smart metering and distribution automation customers – compatible with today’s Gridstream offering and upgradable to the next generation solution.

“Utilities are adopting smart grid technology at a rapidly increasing pace,” said Richard Mora, Landis+Gyr President and CEO Americas. “Landis+Gyr is unveiling the next generation of Gridstream in a way that will serve our customers’ needs today and catapult their solutions into the future with a clear migration path to what we believe will be the leading, most advanced, technical solution for the distribution grid.”

Smart grid networks enhance the efficiency and reliability of the electric grid by providing utilities with a dedicated data network that meets utilities’ strict requirements to deliver power from traditional, renewable and distributed generation energy sources. Gridstream provides the intelligence and connectivity to manage smart grid functions from the home to the grid to the utility office on a single secure network, providing utilities important monitoring and control points throughout their distribution networks.

“Our vision is to change the paradigm in the smart grid industry by evolving from a network of sensors to a network of intelligent devices that serve as the platform for an ecosystem of interoperable advanced applications,” elaborated Mora. “Similar to the smart phone world where there are options for hardware based on customer needs and a plethora of applications that operate across hardware platforms, utilities will be able to select components that meet their needs today, but that will also support the still emerging applications of the future.”

This versatile next generation solution is the logical evolution of today’s high-performance Gridstream network platform, with the same meshing capability and support for advanced metering, distribution grid automation and home energy management applications; but with industry leading processing power, performance and upgradeability to adapt to new protocols and industry standards.

Notable enhancements to the next generation Gridstream network, with initial shipments beginning in the third quarter of 2012, include:

  • Support for IPV6 and compatibility with emerging IEEE and IETF open communication and networking protocols at all levels of the network
  • Industry leading network performance that allows multiple applications over a single network and takes advantage of a 300% increase in data rate to support performance needs of distribution grid applications such as volt/VAR, fault detection, and demand side management.
  • Open computing platform with headroom to support growth in both processing and memory as utility needs change. This open platform, designed for flexibility and high performance, allows for multiple applications to run simultaneously and provides the platform necessary to allow the integration of future third party applications.
  • Migration paths that reduce risk and provide options that offer backward compatibility with existing Gridstream devices, thus enabling utilities to add new generation devices as they become available and upgrade system performance when and where it is needed

“The Series V release of Gridstream is based upon the latest processing and communications technologies offering 24 MB memory and reaching speeds of up to 300 kbps. This evolution of Gridstream further strengthens Landis+Gyr’s position as the market leader in innovative communication solutions,” said Heath Thompson, Chief Technology Officer at Landis+Gyr. “Our next generation hardware is designed to meet future speed, data storage, and protocol requirements, while being able to operate with our legacy Series III and current Series IV networks – a clear benefit for both current Gridstream customers and those utilities seeking the utmost confidence in their selection of a future ready smart grid communications platform.”

About Landis+Gyr

Landis+Gyr is the leading global provider of integrated energy management products tailored to energy company needs and unique in its ability to deliver true end-to-end advanced metering solutions. Today, the Company offers the broadest portfolio of products and services in the electricity metering industry, and is paving the way for the next generation of smart grid. With annualized sales of more than US$1.5 billion, Landis+Gyr, a standalone growth platform of the Toshiba Corporation (TKY:6502) and 40% owned by the Innovation Network Corporation of Japan, operates in 30 countries across five continents, and employs 5,000 people with the sole mission of helping the world manage energy better.