Semtech and Wasion collaborate on G3-PLC based AMI in China

Semtech Corporation and Wasion Group announced today their collaboration on the first roll out of the G3-PLC based Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) with China Southern Power Grid. Semtech's multimode Power Line Communications (PLC) platforms will be used for communication in RS485 Meter aggregators, as well as for residential, commercial and industrial Smart Meters. Semtech's EV8000 Power Line Communications SoC will be employed as the G3-PLC communications modem.

“We selected Semtech as our AMI technology partner for OFDM PLC roll out in Southern Grid due to the superior performance of Semtech’s modems under challenging network conditions and the fact that Semtech offered the highest density and the lowest bill of material for its external circuitry,” said Michael Wang, Sr. VP and Chief Technology Officer at Wasion. “Integrating Semtech’s multi-protocol modems allow us to run a G3-PLC PHY while supporting the legacy DL/T645 and Q/GDW376.2 modem interfaces used in Southern Grid.”

The launch of the G3-PLC with Southern Grid marks the beginning of OFDM roll out in China. With nearly all PLC deployments currently based on older FSK technology, both the State Grid and Southern Grid are evaluating the broader deployment of OFDM technologies to enable higher frequency of meter reads for better demand management, including enabling consumers to monitor their energy usage. With nearly 400 million utility customers, Southern Grid covers five provinces and has more than 36 million utility customers, while State Grid has over 350 million.

“We are very pleased to have been selected by Wasion as their strategic AMI technology partner for Southern Grid,” said Reza Mirkhani, Vice President of Smart Grid Products at Semtech. “Wasion, with its long history in Smart Meter development, is one of the largest vendors of meters and advanced AMI solutions in the industry. We look forward to a strong Partnership with Wasion as they roll out the first G3-PLC OFDM-based AMI network with Southern Grid.”

The EV8000 is a fully-integrated single-chip PLC SoC that includes comprehensive modem functionality from the power line to the network layer and has programmable frequency bands, covering CENELEC-A, FCC and ARIB bands without the need for chip or module hardware changes. The EV8000 soft-modem can be programmed to operate in ITU-T G.9903 (G3-PLC), ITU-T G.9904 (PRIME) and IEEE P1901.2 modes simply by downloading their respective firmware code to the chip remotely over the power line network.