News & Press Releases:

Carlson Wireless Launches IEC 61850 and Smart Grid Ready SwiftGridTM Radio Platform at ENTELEC Conference and Expo April 29th - 30th 2009, in Houston TX

Press Release, Apr 22 2009

Arcata, CA - April 22, 2009 - Carlson Wireless Technologies, Inc. is launching their next generation SwiftGrid™ radio platform on April 29th at ENTELEC 2009 Conference and Expo in Houston, Texas. Designed to meet or exceed emerging Smart Grid and IEC 61850 standards, SwiftGrid™ will be available as a point-to-point backhaul radio as well as point-to-multipoint configurations for facility wide LAN coverage.


Real time communication with decisive and reliable timing is critical to vital switching requirements that protect substation and distributed generation infrastructure such as wind farms. SwiftGrid™ is the first cost effective synchronous radio platform that provides ultra-low and fixed latency of less than 4 milliseconds making it completely transparent and compatible with all legacy TDM and future IP protocols.


Multiple OFDM modulation rates, channel sizes and 1 MHz channel center tuning allow for unprecedented spectrum flexibility and non-line-of-sight operation providing up to 24 Mbps (full duplex) throughput at distances beyond 100 km. First generation SwiftGrid™ is currently available in unlicensed 900 MHz, 2.4 GHz, 5.2 GHz, 5.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz, and public safety licensed 4.9 GHz frequency bands. Due to the flexible nature of the radio platform, 180 MHz to 280 MHz and 700 MHz as well as 6 GHz frequency bands will soon be available.


Carlson Wireless has been providing USA manufactured wireless broadband and telecommunications links for the utilities and telecom industry since 1999 with their popular Trailblazer™ radio line. SwiftGrid™ significantly expands their product offering to these sectors. “We’ve installed numerous Trailblazer radios with great success. Carlson Wireless’ radios are rugged and completely compatible with our utility customers' analog and digital equipment,” said Bryan Sullings, of CD Nova, in Burnaby, BC. “We are excited about the release of the SwiftGrid line. This is a flexible or powerful radio platform and with the IEC 61850 standards on the horizon, my customers are ready for it.”


“Synchronous low latency microwave has been our niche for over a decade. With the emerging Smart Grid market in need of a fast, cost effective solution, we are a great fit,” said Jim Carlson CEO of Carlson Wireless. “We’ve designed these units for standard configurations; however, we’re seeing increased interest in OEM partnerships. It’s an exciting time for us.”


For over a decade Carlson Wireless has been providing wireless broadband and telephone solutions for utilities, industry and public safety agencies worldwide. Carlson Wireless’ TrueTDM™ and SWiFT™ solutions deliver perfect wireline quality for T1/E1, Ethernet, POTS, 4-wire E&M and SCADA  for a variety of applications. For more information, visit www.carlsonwireless.com.