BC Hydro has selected Concord, Ontario-based RuggedCom Inc. (TSX:RCM) to supply technology for a wireless area network pilot project.
The project will test the suitability of WiMax, a wireless broadband technology, to provide the power utility’s needs, which include remote monitoring for alarms, video surveillance and smart metering. The project calls for the technology to be tested in the Burnaby-Richmond area and on the Gulf Islands.
It will run for three months through to March 2011. If the project is successful, it will be extended into a two, or three, year supply agreement.
Last week, BC Hydro announced it had selected Corix Utilities to install 1.8 million smart meters in B.C., beginning this summer. (See “Smart hydro meters coming soon” – BIV Business Today, January 26).