changes constantly. Yet Trent says the mission-critical nature of the power grid means that this wireless monitoring network also is becoming mission critical. “It’s very different than from [landline] telecom networks, where network operators monitor and make changes to optimize performance,” Trent says. The wireless network has to be managed automatically, to ensure the system responds instantaneously, so the most important parts of the network will operate as needed.
After developing such a system, known as “AirSync” technology, Trent says Proximetry went through beta testing with Sempra Energy, the San Diego-based energy goliath that operates SDG&E and Southern California Gas. Trent says AirSync has the capability to manage and optimize the performance of wireless networks that include various technologies from an assortment of vendors, and which use multiple wireless frequencies and different protocols.
In addition to targeting the emerging market for smart grids operated by electric utilities, Trent says Proximetry’s technology also is addressing the needs of private wireless networks in the oil and gas industry, emerging broadband markets in India and Mexico, and certain transportation markets.
In aviation, for example, Trent says that aircraft manufacturers and airline operators have been laying plans for developing private wireless networks at airports. With passengers in the terminal using much of the available bandwidth on airport wireless networks, aviation industry officials want to ensure that each aircraft that pulls up to a gate can download all the data needed in the cockpit before departing on the next leg of its flight.
“We’ve done tests at the San Diego airport,” Trent says, “and later this year, we’ll be standing up a facility for Boeing [near Seattle].”
Proximetry has raised a total of $10 million in venture funding, primarily from
