We have news to share from our member, PGE Systemy of Poland.
Friday 12 April 2019 | 11:22 CET | News
Polish company PGE Systemy, which holds a licence for LTE spectrum in the 450 MHz band, expects that suppliers for its network construction could be selected via tender in summer, reports Telko.in. The mobile network will be used to fulfil the needs of power distributors and could be launched in the first half of 2020.
In four locations – Augustow, Warsaw, Poznan and Wrzesnia – an LTE 450 pilot has been running for several months and is due to end in summer.
The pilot is a part of the “Programme for the construction of a critical communication system for energy”. The licence for frequencies in the 450 MHz band was awarded to PGE Systemy by the regulator UKE, as a result of the administrative decision of the Minister of Energy, to carry out tasks in the field of voice communication and data transmission by distribution networks for gas, liquid fuels or electricity. The programme participants, apart from PGESystemy, include distribution system operators (DSOs) as well as other entities from the energy sector.
The tests carried out with the participation of the DSOs use equipment from Ericsson and Nokia. The purpose of the tests is to show that LTE 450 meets the needs of the energy sector in terms of dispatcher communication (voice and video), controlling industrial automation systems, including those related to maintaining power grids and removing their failures, as well as smart metering.
PGE Systemy will test 112 scenarios prepared in cooperation with entities from the power sector.
The LTE 450 network would act as a critical communication system for the power industry and should act as a separate network. It will have its own radio access network as well as a core network. It also has a separate transport network. Investment costs related to the construction of a nationwide LTE radio access network and network control system are estimated at less than PLN 200 million.
The spectrum was previously held by Orange Poland, which had nearly 800 radio permits, but the network did not cover 100 percent of the country’s territory.
PGE Systemy plans to put the contract for equipment out to tender in summer after the tests, seeking a supplier for the construction of the radio network element. A separate tender is planned for the control system.