Navigating the Evolution of Grid-Tied Technologies with Innovative, Collaborative Solutions with Ryan Gerbrandt, COO of Anterix [Power Perspectives Conversations at DISTRIBUTECH 2024]
In an era marked by quickly evolving technological challenges, cybersecurity threats, and the utility industry leading a clean energy transition, professionals in the power industry find themselves at the forefront of a complex and rapidly moving landscape. And as told by Ryan Gerbrandt, Chief Operating Officer at Anterix, broadband technology at utilities is uniquely poised to drive innovation and future-readiness to the next level.
While sitting at the centrally located booth that Anterix attained during the recent DISTRIBUTECH 2024 Conference in Orlando, Gerbrandt pointed directly to the neighboring companies with booths of their own, some of which would ostensibly be considered competition but which he saw as peers, collaborators, and key participants in a ‘rising tides’ approach that he finds will bring the landscape of the digital utility to new levels. Indeed, the Anterix Active Ecosystem includes more than 100 technology innovators whose products and services are enabling utilities to achieve their grid modernization goals via 900 MHz private wireless broadband networks.
“Modern solutions are not going to be single-vendor and vertically integrated like they used to be. "This shift fuels our commitment to fostering collaboration and partnerships across the ecosystem." – Ryan Gerbrandt
At DISTRIBUTECH, Anterix's COO emphasized the role of collaboration in driving progress and highlighted numerous opportunities for flexible and innovative utilities, particularly those leveraging broadband technologies his company is championing.
Fully Embracing Broadband Opportunities for the Power Sector
Reflecting during the final day at DISTRIBUTECH, Gerbrandt noted that the dramatic evolution of utility technologies showcased at the conference represents a vital pathway as the sector addresses new risks and opportunities. Naturally, he saw the prominent role of telecommunications in transforming the grid, with broadband being paramount among them. Compared with previous years at the conference, according to Gerbrandt, telecommunications had finally taken the main stage at DISTRIBUTECH 2024, including an entire speaking track focus. That focus confirms not only the urgency felt by the broader industry, but the buy-in that the utility leaders are seeing themselves.
Overall, the conversations at DISTRIBUTECH confirmed a growing recognition of the critical role that wireless broadband plays in addressing major issues faced by today’s digital, flexible, and distributed energy industry: driving the next generation of smart meters, enabling the growth of distributed energy resources, mapping flexibility and demand-response needs, and so much more. “It underscores the maturation of our understanding of the pivotal role that broadband plays,” Gerbrandt confirms, “and it highlights the fundamental and critical expansion of broadband’s significance in addressing the defining issues we encounter in the energy industry.”
The Anterix booth bustling at DISTRIBUTECH 2024