Consideration in Communication Media Selection for Advanced Metering Infrastructure in Indonesia

Nowadays, smart grids are becoming a reality all over the world. The fundamental of smart grid technology is Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) mainly smart meter communication. This study focuses on the selection of appropriate communication media between Smart meters and Data Concentrator Unit (DCU). Technical review of the performance of communication media from literature studies, field study based on pilot projects, and direct testing of communication media performance is conducted. Financial review is done to observe the cheapest investment and operation and maintenance cost. The optimal smart meter two-ways communication technology will be selected. Each communication will be compared based on communication parameters which are divided into three technology comparison groups, namely: Power Line Communication (PLC), Radio Frequency (RF) non-cellular communication technology, and RF cellular technology. As consideration, the suitable telecommunication media can be selected based on customer characteristic, like geographical condition and customer density.