Regulation blocking telcos from the grid, Bechtel CTO says

Regulations that encourage utilities to build their own communications network are hurting utilities and blocking telecom service providers from one of their biggest opportunities in the smart grid, according to Jake MacLeod, Chief Technology Officer at Bechtel Communications, a global engineering, construction and project management firm. Speaking at the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions technology conference, MacLeod noted that today's regulatory environment rewards a return on every capital dollar that a utility spends in infrastructure. However, if a utility opts to partner with a telco, requiring operational expenses, but negating the need for capital upfront, that utility gets no aid in return. "So as a power company they say, 'I have to build my own network,'" MacLeod said. "'It doesn't make sense, but I have to build it."