Itron Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI) and Landis+Gyr – two of the biggest players in the smart grid market – announced they intend to integrate their smart meter communication technologies.
By making their smart meters interoperable, the companies will be able to provide utility customers greater flexibility in building advanced metering infrastructures (AMI).
They also stengthen their already impressive hold on the market, by effectively doubling the installed capacity with which their products can interoperate.
The two companies are developing integrated communications, providing compatibility with Landis+Gyr GridstreamTM and Itron OpenWay® systems. One project involves Landis+Gyr building a Gridstream RF communications module for Itron’s CENTRON II meter, which provides the same robust meter functionality available on the Itron OpenWay platform. Landis+Gyr and Itron expect to announce general product availability before the end of this year.
The other project involves Itron integrating its OpenWay communications module into the Landis+Gyr FOCUS AX-SD meter, delivering on the promise of an open and interoperable solution, while also providing utilities with a second meter source for the OpenWay architecture. The OpenWay-enabled FOCUS meter is scheduled for commercial release in Q311.
"These projects represent an important extension of our development effort to build the products our utility customers are seeking," says Jeff Carkhuff, vice president of Product Management at Landis+Gyr.
"Our customers have asked for multi-vendor systems. Working on these projects with Landis+Gyr demonstrates our dedication to offering best-of-breed solutions," says Russ Vanos, vice president and general manager sales and marketing, Itron North America. "By enabling system interoperability, we can help utilities of all sizes reduce both implementation and ongoing communications costs, as well as improve efficiencies and accelerate return on investment."
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