Siemens DLC move will give utilities more options for smart metering

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Multifacetedsmart grid technologies and equipment provider Siemens Energy will open up its previously proprietary Distribution Line Carrier (DLC) communications protocol — which the company says will give utilities the option to use smart meters made by other manufacturers within its automated metering and information system (AMIS). DLC is based on spread spectrum signal modulation which, as Siemens puts it, "...makes communications practically insensitive to interference signals and distortion. The protocol thus ensures hitch-free functioning of smart metering solutions within smart grids." The DLC app, Siemens says, can handle signal damping, noise, network disturbances, signal coupling and network configuration changes. It also can accommodate the integration of future smart grid functions.

Jesse Berst's Take: Siemens' own release sums it up perfectly. This announcement is "in the direction" of open communications... but it's not all the way there. True open communications means Internet Protocol, not DLC. Although this move will have some value to those who already use DLC, Siemens has quite a bit further to go before it catches up to today's IP-based world.

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