A new standard for critical Internet of Things applications

Utility networks require secure, standardised communications protocols, and IEEE 802.16s fits the bill, says Kathy Nelson.

The European electricity sector is undergoing a transformation in an effort to modernise and secure the power grid. Grid modernisation involves the development of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) or Mission-Critical Internet of Things (MC-IoT). The challenge, however, is that IIoT and MC-IoT require increased connectivity provided by secure and reliable wireless field area networks in order to communicate with remote monitoring and control technologies. Unfortunately, most available network solutions were not designed to support the continuously changing demands of the MC-IoT.

Electricity utilities need standard technology options to deploy highly reliable networks on private radio spectrum. While wireless standards exist for broadband spectrum, until recently there has not been a standard technology that could be used on a narrow frequency. The wide band channels available are higher cost, which leaves utilities facing proprietary technology solutions, or relying on commercial carriers, which do not have the reliability and availability for mission critical ­applications.

Proprietary solutions, regardless of the size of the technology vendor or provider, pose multiple challenges to utilities. While a proprietary solution may meet demands and provide a sound design at the time of purchase, utilities face the constant risk that the vendor may go out of business or discontinue the product line, leaving customers unsupported. Even if the customer has asked for intellectual property to be put in escrow as a precaution in case such a situation occurs, the customer would need to find a manufacturer willing to develop that product for them. In many cases, that is not a possibility.

As a solution, a grass roots effort was undertaken in 2015 by electric utilities, manufacturers, and research organisations to create a modification to the existing IEEE 802.16 standard, also known as WiMAX. This standard was ratified and published in October 2017 and is now known globally as IEEE 802.16s.

IEEE 802.16s is a narrow channel amendment to the IEEE 802.16 standard and allows operation in sufficiently narrow channel sizes. Because it does not specify frequency band, it is flexible and can be used in any frequency range. With IEEE 802.16s, utilities and other critical infrastructure entities will have more vendor and product options, flexibility, and stability as they purchase solutions to enable MC-IoT in the future.