- Providing Much Needed Support for Utility LTE Critical Infrastructure -
At the DistribuTECH International event this week, the Utility Broadband Alliance (UBBA) will celebrate its second anniversary as a 501(c)(6) ) not-for-profit association dedicated to advancing and developing utility broadband networks as a key enabler of the utility of the future. The UBBA membership growth in the first two years has emphasized the need for the Alliance as the critical resource for utilities to understand the imperative of private LTE networks as the key to secure, resilient, digital grid modernization. The Alliance has grown beyond its initial goals, which focused on business drivers, use cases and technical requirements of private LTE. For 2023, UBBA will expand its efforts to support utilities with smart grid device and application testing as well as increasing member engagement through sharing of lessons learned from early adopters.
The UBBA Board of Directors is led by utilities dedicated to guide the Alliance through continued growth and evolution. Ali Mohammed from New York Power Authority (NYPA) serves as the UBBA Chairman of the Board. “Successful organizations require a lot of hard work and dedication from a team of people,” said Ali Mohammed. “As the Chairman of the Utility Broadband Alliance, I am honored that this team elected me to lead the Alliance through these early growth years. Our utility-led working groups have been supported by innovative technology vendors and consultants for the first two years. This week in San Diego, the Board of Directors has crafted the UBBA three-year strategic plan to continue the evolution and strengthen UBBA into 2026 and beyond.”
In addition to Ali Mohammed, the UBBA Board Members for 2023 are:
- Vice Chair, Michael Rosenthal from Southern Linc, A Southern Company
- Secretary, Paul Anuszkiewicz from Palmetto Technology Associates
- Treasurer, Mar Tarres from Anterix
- Chris Vana from Ameren
- Omar Zevallos from San Diego Gas & Electric
- Carlos Carazo from Southern California Edison
- Gary Johnson from Evergy
- Russ Ehrlich from ComEd
- Ken Rabedeau from Nokia
- Emily Allen from Motorola Solutions
- Matt Olson from Burns & McDonnell
- Kimberly Kerr from UScellular
At 83 members and growing, UBBA has successfully executed two LTE Plugfests to test and show the technical capabilities of the LTE networks, applications, and device interoperability. This coming October, in Minneapolis, UBBA will hold its third annual Summit & Plugfest to further accelerate utilities’ adoption of private LTE technology by showcasing the success stories of utilities that are already engaged in the journey.
“The focus UBBA brings to the utility industry allows our members to share information about strategies to build, manage and integrate grid modernization use cases in the utility’s broadband network,” said UBBA Executive Director, Bobbi Harris. “For several years, there was a great need within the industry for utilities and ecosystem companies to come together like they have at UBBA. Today utilities from across the country and around the world can get answers to strategic questions about broadband network deployment strategies to build and safeguard critical infrastructure.”
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