Corn Belt Power Cooperative, which provides power in 41 northern Iowa counties, is deploying Exalt Communications’ microwave backhaul systems to consolidate its legacy communications network and improve traffic management on its smart grid and System Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems.

Corn Belt Power reports that in 2010, the utility implemented its Watts Smart load-management system, using smart grid technology “to optimize usage patterns and reduce costs. The system time-shifts electric water heaters and cycles off air conditioners to use electricity more efficiently during peak-demand periods.”

Lynn Miller, communications superintendent for Corn Belt Power Cooperative, explains, “As we learned from our smart grid system, real-time data is the path to efficiency. Migrating that traffic to an IP-Ethernet infrastructure lets us guarantee QoS for our SCADA network and helps co-op members make faster decisions using smart grid data. Exalt microwave systems offer the right mix of frequency bands and networking capabilities, and we’ll never have to run cables or lease lines to quickly extend service to new communities or add more clean alternative energy sources to our network.”

Working with Exalt partner Calhoun Communications of Sioux City, Iowa, Corn Belt Power deployed Exalt ExploreAir 11 GHz microwave systems and Exalt EX-Series 5 GHz and 6 GHz systems.

Exalt Communications senior director of product marketing Mark Davis, says, “Energy and utility companies are seeing dramatic increases in the volumes of data gathered from SCADA networks, as well as the widespread deployment of IP services, and that’s placing new demands on legacy infrastructures. The Exalt deployment at Corn Belt Power Cooperative is another example of how the right microwave backhaul systems can serve legacy applications—industrial systems unlikely to change, such as phone and two-way radio networks—and prepare for increasing IP traffic loads like SCADA data, smart grid traffic, and off-site server backup.”

Exalt Communications provides next-generation microwave backhaul systems to mobile operators, service providers, government agencies, and enterprises worldwide. For more information, visit www.exaltcom.com.

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