Elster Selected CalAmp for Tennessee Smart Metering Project

CalAmp, a leading provider of wireless products, services and solutions for Smart Grid applications, has been chosen by Elster, one of the world's largest electricity, gas and water measurement and control providers, to supply the wireless routing hardware and network services for a wide-area advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) for Tennessee's Bolivar Energy Authority (BEA).

Located in southwestern Tennessee and serving more than 11,000 households and businesses, BEA is one of 155 power distributors for the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), a federally owned corporation providing electricity across the southeastern U.S. Elster's EnergyAxis(R) and Smart Meters will enable BEA to modernize its electric infrastructure and provide customers with clear pricing and usage information, allowing customers to better manage, monitor and control energy consumption and costs.

CalAmp's Viper SC 900 system will serve as the vital communications link between Elster's Gatekeeper AMI network concentrators and the core communications infrastructure, offering the speed and range necessary for secure data backhaul over the Smart Grid. Viper's unique multispeed operating capability optimizes network efficiency and accommodates extended range communications across a wide area, such as that served by BEA. This CalAmp private wireless network will use a combination of unlicensed spectrum and licensed 900MHz spectrum that was secured by BEA through CalAmp. In addition to the radio hardware, CalAmp will also supply network design and project management services.

CalAmp has begun shipping wireless router equipment for the BEA AMI project and anticipates completing the communications network in mid-2012, with follow-on expansion opportunities possible.