The new facility consists of an operating lab and a range of demo environments that enable utility companies to work with Ericsson and its partners to solve real-world connectivity problems.
Commenting on the launch of the centre, Koustuv Ghoshal, vice president and head of utilities, energy & industrials at Ericsson North America, said, "Private cellular networks are principal catalysts for utilities in their digital transformation journey to address multiple use cases, and utilities can now leverage our Global Utilities Innovation Center to experiment with different 4G and 5G use cases and co-create with our ecosystem partners. We look forward to partnering with utilities around the world on their grid modernisation journey."
The centre is also integrated with Ericsson's device testing lab located a short distance from the Plano site, where energy utilities and original equipment manufacturers can test the interoperability of their utilities' field and IoT devices over networks.
In addition, the centre contains a physical representation of an energy utility smart grid, facilitating real-world demonstrations of end-to-end private network operations across the power grid. The site also includes the Ericsson Experience Center in Plano, Texas, and Ericsson Labs in Richardson, Texas.
"Utilities require mission-critical networks that have to be secure, reliable, and increasingly sustainable," said Per Wahlen, head of business development at Ericsson North America.
"This centre is a state-of-the-art facility where we can work closely with utility companies, exploring new 4G and 5G use cases and delivering end-to-end solutions. At each point, you can see the benefits of the latest generations of cellular wireless networks in enhancing security, resilience, and efficiency of the power infrastructure."
In related news, last month Ericsson and Turkcell confirmed the deployment of Ericsson's Diameter Singaling Controller using automation on Turkcell’s network.
The deployment includes Ericsson products, services and training and was completed in 2021.
