At the leading Smart Grid conference in San Antonio many of the leading vendors will be showcasing their products and services in the Exhibit halls.   In 2011, they had 8,400 attendees and 400 exhibitors on hand.  I expect this conference will be wildly successful as well.  Come join me to find out.

So what has changed in the past year?  What are people talking about?  I think one of the topics is how the telecommunications industry is fundamentally changing how the utility operates its communications infrastructure.  With the major carriers providing expansive network coverage, providing redundant and resilient infrastructure to give utilities highly secure and reliable communications, it make sense.  Can utilities build the infrastructure to match? – Sure, but at an incredible cost to their customers.  The only remaining question is can the carrier support the infrastructure for the 15-20 years that a utility demands.  My only response to that is to ask the dozens of utilities that are using carrier services.  I think we are so over that question.

Verizon will also be at DistribuTECH to display its capabilities around Substation Automation, Distribution Automation, Smart Metering, Virtual Peak Plant, Field Services, Home Area Network and Smart City.  We look forward to seeing you there, and chatting about the next generation of trends in this organic sector.

Do you Think Forward?