Impact study of collaborative implementation models on total cost of ownership of integrated fiber-wireless smart grid communications infrastructures

Abstract

The majority of previous studies give good insight in the overall costs of various communications network architectures but most consider only the vertical integration model. However, it is necessary to take a closer look at the possibilities and gains through collaboration. In this work, we develop a flexible, generic yet comprehensive total cost of ownership (TCO) framework, which calculates the overall costs related to the rollout of smart grid communications networks for different scenarios. Further, we present our novel collaborative implementation model for a shared infrastructure for both broadband access and smart grid communications. In addition, buildings currently shift from a product to a service (i.e., renewable power supply). Thus, our idea is that housing companies will collaborate by offering the positive renewable energy to communications network providers. We study the impact of this model on TCO and compare it with tradionnal vertical integration model. The sensitivity analysis for the key cost parameters is conducted. We also analyze the risk related to renewable energy intermittency.