Next Generation Networks for Telecommunications Operators Providing Services to Transnational Smart Grid Operators

Abstract

Due to the networking expertise, services and technical support of telecommunications operators, Smart Grid (SG) operators prefer telecommunications operators for their communications needs instead of creating private networks. In this paper, the use of Next Generation Networks (NGNs) by telecommunications operators to provide services to transnational SG operators for SG applications is evaluated. NGNs are all IP networks which are packet based and use IP to transport the various types of traffic such as data, voice, video, and signalling over converged fixed and mobile networks. The main idea of transnational SG operators is simple. By creating a huge single infrastructure for energy, more than one countries and nations can be powered at once. For this, it is not needed to install very huge power plants. Simply creating a complex network of power grid connections to each participating country is enough. The results of a set of simulation studies are given to show the efficiency of the NGN-based communication infrastructure for SG applications in terms of important network performance metrics. The results show that NGN-based communication infrastructures can carry packets based on their priority levels and bandwidth allocations in order to meet the specific requirements of SG applications.