US utility provider Tampa Electric Company (TECO) has tasked Ericsson and OneLayer to deploy, manage, and secure its private LTE network.. Tampa Electric has also picked Burns & McDonnell to provide integration and engineering expertise.. – Ericsson. As noted by Ericsson, Tampa Electric was one of the first companies to deploy a private LTE network for operational use..
The company has built its Mission Critical Network (MCN) on Ericsson’s LTE technology to support connectivity for operational devices across its electric delivery infrastructure.. According to the network vendor, Tampa Electric’s network is growing to “accommodate a growing number of connected devices in the coming years.” This will see Burns & McDonnell, provide its expertise in utility network infrastructure and operational technology systems.
The company will also be responsible for aligning the deployment with Tampa Electric’s existing systems and operational requirements.. Meanwhile, OneLayer’s Bridge platform provides Tampa Electric with SIM lifecycle management, device onboarding, and real-time visibility into cellular-connected devices across its operational infrastructure..
The deployment means that Tampa Electric’s operations teams can onboard and provision cellular-connected devices through an automated workflow, reducing the manual effort required to bring new assets onto the network.. This enables these teams to access visibility behind cellular routers and CPE that were previously difficult to monitor, and can track device status, location, and connectivity in real time across distributed field sites..
Ericsson notes that some of the key features include network segmentation, automated provisioning workflows, geofencing, and integration with existing security and network monitoring tools.. It comes as Tampa Electric prepares to deploy tens of thousands of devices over the next five years, the first phase of which will see several thousand devices deployed.. “Utilities making long-term investments in private LTE infrastructure need the security architecture and operational tools to support it at scale,” said Drew Ganther, VP Sales, OneLayer. “The work Tampa Electric and Burns & McDonnell have done here is a strong example of how utilities are approaching private cellular deployments thoughtfully, selecting partners and technology that fit how their teams actually operate.”.
As 5G evolves, Tampa Electric’s LTE‑based MCN will be able to adapt with it, as Ericsson’s own MCN solutions are natively built on the company’s standard 3GPP LTE and 5G portfolio.. “By combining Ericsson’s proven mission-critical LTE solutions with the expertise of OneLayer and Burns & McDonnell, Tampa Electric is setting a new benchmark for how utilities can scale secure, high-reliability private cellular networks to support tens of thousands of devices and future 5G requirements,” said Dana Jaber, head of mission critical networks, Ericsson Americas..
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