AT&T/ Nokia Utility IoT Offering to Rely on Dedicated Spectrum

A new AT&T/ Nokia utility IoT offering aims to address the key issue that utility companies have had with purchasing wireless connectivity from wireless service providers. Utilities are seeking two-way wireless communications networks to support smart grid initiatives. But as Mike Troiano, vice president of industrial IoT for AT&T, explained, the utilities “use cellular but usually build their own [network]. . . If you unpeel the real objection, what they want is a private [network].” The utilities, he said, want a high level of control over their network. To address this objection, the AT&T/ Nokia utility IoT solution relies on a swath of AT&T spectrum that will be dedicated to the utility industry and will support networks based on Nokia equipment that will be built for the exclusive use of the utility company in a geographic area.