RuggedCom’s Utility Grade RuggedMAX Broadband Wireless Solution to be Deployed in a Field Trial of a Proposed WiMAX Wide Area Network.

CONCORD, ON, Jan. 31 /CNW/

RuggedCom Inc., (“RuggedCom”) (Toronto:RCM.TO), a leading designer and manufacturer of rugged communications networking solutions for mission-critical applications in harsh environments, today announced it has been selected as a supplier for BC Hydro’s WAN Pilot project. The Pilot project will run through March 2011 and successful deployment will extend the supply agreement for an additional two to three years.

BC Hydro is deploying the WiMAX WAN field trial in the Burnaby/Richmond area and the Gulf Islands of the Lower Mainland in BC. The purpose of the field trial is to verify the suitability of WiMAX technology for BC Hydro’s applications including:

– Distribution automation, such as the control and monitoring of reclosers, transformers and capacitor banks

– Site remote monitoring for alarms and video surveillance

– SCADA LAN connectivity

– Smart metering

“BC Hydro continues to be a thought leader in the proliferation of communication technologies for grid automation applications,” said Elik Jaeger, VP RuggedWIRELESS. “We are delighted BC Hydro chose to work with RuggedCom on this key Smart Grid infrastructure pilot project and look forward to successful completion of the field trial and the future roll out over the BC Hydro service territory.”

The pilot project is a multi site live outdoor deployment and is expected to last 3 months. The project will be deployed in the 1.8 GHz frequency band, set aside by Industry Canada for electric power applications. RuggedMAX is the world’s first utility grade mobile WiMAX platform designed for the harsh environment of the electric substation by complying to standards such as IEEE 1613 and IEC 61850-3. RuggedMAX supports a unique standalone network architecture, which can operate without the need for an ASN gateway, thereby reducing end-to-end latency and improving system reliability.

About RuggedCom Inc.
RuggedCom is a leading provider of rugged communications networking solutions designed for mission-critical applications in harsh environments. RuggedCom’s pioneering leadership in developing technologies and products for the electric power industry delivered the world’s first IEC 61850-3 compliant Ethernet switch suitable for electric utility substation environments, the world’s first IEEE 1613 Class 2 error free communication devices, the world’s fastest network fault recovery and the world’s first fully managed IP67 rated Ethernet switch. RuggedCom’s technology solutions include Ethernet switches, network routers, wireless devices, serial servers, media converters, software and professional services. RuggedCom’s products are expressly designed for use in challenging environments such as those found in electrical power substations and “Smart Grids”.

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