# Wireless Communication Technologies for Smart Grid Distribution Networks +
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[PERSON]  
1 Analog Devices, Inc., Wilmington, MA 01887, USA 14 Celegio de Ciencias engenierias \"EI Politecnico\", Universidad San Francisco de Quito USFQ, Quito 170157, Ecuador; [EMAIL_ADDRESS]  
[PERSON]  
2 Celegio de Ciencias engenierias \"EI Politecnico\", Universidad San Francisco de Quito USFQ, Quito 170157, Ecuador; [EMAIL_ADDRESS]  
[PERSON]  
3 Facultad de Ciencias Tecnicas, Ingenieria Mercatornica, Universidad Internacional del Ecuador UIDE, Quito 170411, Ecuador; [EMAIL_ADDRESS]  
[PERSON]  
4 School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (PECC), University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas 13088-882, SP, Brazil; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (D.E.C.B.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (B.A.A.A.) 4  
Byron Alejandro Ac  
are connected via busbars and transformers. Measurement and control equipment in these sections of the grid is usually bulky and has high investment costs. Reliable communication links are always readily available between these high-power appliances, such as power cabinets, transformers, and power stations [2].  
The gradual introduction of different distributed generation resources in the future grid will cause the direction of the power flow (which has been historically conceived as \"one-way\") to be considered \"bi-directional\" instead. In that situation, to keep security and reliability, the monitoring and control tasks must focus on the lowest sections of the grid. In the new paradigm of the smart grid, generation, Transmission and Distribution (T&D), and customer levels are considered. While the deployment of technologies at the generation and customer levels has already started, at the T&D level, there is still a requirement to develop the infrastructure for power management tasks. The key to accurate power management is monitoring the conditions of the grid over a broad range. Only real-time sensing and data communication technologies at this level will make this possible. As T&D infrastructures are the largest within the power grid, the range to cover is vast, and it has become an urgent issue to identify reliable and cost-effective solutions for these tasks.  
To enable the management of energy flow at the T&D level and provide consumers at the customer level with a voice in demand management tasks, the integration of information and communication technologies (ICTs) is going to play a fundamental role in the progress of the smart grid. Currently, research efforts in the field of ICTs for the smart grid are extensive, and there is an ongoing discussion about the best technologies at different levels. Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are widely considered the most suitable solution for communication nodes that perform sensing functions at different sections of the distribution network. This review paper summarizes the investigations on wireless communication technologies that may offer adequate robustness, reliability, speed, and the ability to scale into large-scale and low-cost networks, to monitor distribution lines (typically of 22 kV). Section 2 presents a brief introduction to the communications architecture in the smart grid, including an overview of the most popular technologies available for the task of smart grid monitoring. Section 3 explores the requirements of sensor networks in the power line environment. Section 4 outlines past studies on the performance of the different available technologies in practical applications and their comparison. Section 5 presents a summary and conclusions, along with recommended potential future research work in this area.