Ericsson Unveils Utilities Innovation Center in Plano, Texas

Ericsson has announced the opening of its Global Utilities Innovation Center at its facility in Plano, Texas. The new fully functional facility consists of a purpose-built operating lab and demo environment locations that will allow utilities to engage with Ericsson and its partners to solve real-world connectivity challenges.

“Private cellular networks are principal catalysts for utilities in their digital transformation journey to address multiple use cases, and utilities can now leverage our Global Utilities Innovation Center to experiment with different 4G and 5G use cases and co-create with our ecosystem partners,” says Koustuv Ghoshal, Vice President and Head of Utilities, Energy & Industrials at Ericsson North America. “We look forward to partnering with utilities around the world on their grid modernization journey.”

The Global Utilities Innovation Center is integrated with Ericsson’s state-of-the art device testing lab a short distance from the Plano site, where utilities and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) partners can test interoperability of their field and IoT devices over mission-critical networks in a safe and secure environment. As a fully functional end-to-end operational lab, the center contains a physical representation of a utility smart grid, enabling real-world demonstrations of end-to-end private networks operations across the power grid from generation and transmission to distribution to end users.

“Utilities require mission-critical networks that have to be secure, reliable, and increasingly sustainable,” says Per Wahlen, Head of Business Development at Ericsson North America. “This center is a state-of-the art facility where we can work closely with utility companies, exploring new 4G and 5G use cases and delivering end-to-end solutions. At each point, you can see the benefits of the latest generations of cellular wireless networks in enhancing security, resilience, and efficiency of the power infrastructure.”

Ericsson's Global Utilities Innovation Center creates an interactive, engaging experience to showcase Ericsson and partner solutions for utilities. The Innovation Center environment is a learning platform for exchanging information and ideas between the utilities, Ericsson, and the entire industry.

The environment also allows for co-creation with Ericsson partners while utilities replicate their end-to-end use cases. The Global Utilities Innovation Center includes the Ericsson Experience Center in Plano, Texas, and Ericsson Labs in Richardson, Texas.