Mickey DeChellis discusses White Spaces and Smart Grid Apps - UTC Telecom 2010

The Utilities Telecom Council (UTC) is holding their annual event “UTC Telecom 2010” next week on May 24-26, 2010. This event provides the attendees the opportunity to hear from industry experts on a wide variety of issues that impact their business, including the legal and regulatory aspects, in order to best prepare for the future. Attendees also have the opportunity to meet vendors in their industry, view on-site demonstrations of new products and services, and generate and maintain business and partner relationships. As an active member of the UTC, for the second year in a row, Spectrum Bridge will have a presence at the UTC Telecom being held in Indianapolis, IN.
Mickey DeChellis, Director of Sales & Business Development, will be on the panel discussion entitled: “White Spaces Networks Solution for Reliable Smart Grid Apps? – What’s working now” along with representatives from Motorola and the UTC. The panel will be held at the Smart Grid & Wireless Symposium at 4:30pm in room 106 on Tuesday May 25, 2010. The presentation will be focused on the unlicensed TV spectrum known as “white spaces” which offer potentially hundreds of Megahertz at frequencies with excellent propagation characteristics benefiting Utilities and Telco’s.
An additional benefit of attending the session will include real world examples currently being used with the unlicensed spectrum for Smart Grid and Smart City applications. Mickey DeChellis will be available for further discussion before and after the panel session to answer any questions. To view the UTC Telecom 2010 schedule at a glance, please click here.

DistribuTECH Show - Short Review

In a time of economic downturn, how many companies are willing to participate in trade shows? Apparently plenty; this year’s DistribuTECH Conference and Exhibition drew a record crowd, impressive since the event is in its 19th year.

The 2009 DistribuTECH ran from February 3-5 and contained over 325 booths, covering approximately 89,000 square feet in the San Diego Convention Center. Spectrum Bridge exhibited and sent three staff members to the show: Walt Bolil, Business Development Manager; Lou Eisenberg, Senior Account Manager; and Michael DeBoer, Marketing Manager.

“Smart utilities are looking for a more stable way to ensure their new devices stay connected rather than relying on unlicensed frequencies or carrier networks" said DeBoer. "When they invest tens of millions of dollars into upgrading to smart grid equipment, the wireless infrastructure it is all based on should be solid; which is where dedicated licensed frequencies can be to their obvious advantage.”

One of the high points of the show was when a Saturn Sky roadster was given away. Attendees had to visit a select number of booths to get a card stamped for entry into the drawing. Once all the stamps were collected, the card was turned in at the PennWell booth (the show organizers). On the last day of DistribuTECH, a large crowd gathered at the PennWell site to see who would win. Three names were drawn and one winner picked. The winner was shaking at the knees when he was chosen; a great moment.

Congratulations to PennWell and all who made the 2009 DistribuTECH show such a success.