IoT-G: A Low-Latency and High-Reliability Private Power Wireless Communication Architecture for Smart Grid

Abstract

Communication network has become an essential part of smart grid infrastructure and is under fundamental change within the energy industry. Clear trends indicate that utilities are looking for an upgrade of communication solutions that are able to support massive connections, higher data rate, and lower latency. To achieve this goal, ownership or self-licensing is seen by the utilities as a much more cost effective method of accessing the spectrum. Nevertheless, for many countries, existing narrowband spectrum allocation are likely to remain unchanged for five to ten years due to existing licensed systems under operation. To avoid the difficulty of spectrum refarming, this paper introduces an innovative communication technology – Internet of Things-Grid (IoT-G) – which achieves excellent broadband transmission performances by aggregating existing fragmented narrowband spectrum. This technology inherits several key air interface design elements of 3GPP Release 15 IoT features as well as a number of low-latency design concepts from 3GPP 5G systems. Building upon the cellular ecosystem, IoT-G has a mature industrial chain including end-to-end chipsets, terminals and network equipment. It has passed multiple field tests in 2018, and is planned for large-scale nationwide deployment in 7 provinces and 22 cities in China in 2019.