# Wireless Communication Technologies for Smart Grid Distribution Networks +
## 5 Summary and Conclusions  
This report has presented an overview of the candidate technologies for the task of communication for sensing devices located in different sections of the future electricity distribution network, also known as the smart grid. The new paradigm of smart grid communications defines, at the customer level, a communication architecture known as the Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), which includes Home Area Networks (HANs) to facilitate communication among different elements within customer households, including smart meters (SMs). It also includes Neighborhood Area Networks (NANs) to facilitate communication between SMs and concentration points. On the other hand, devices in charge of measuring tasks in distribution lines are known as sensor nodes (SNs). The concept of the AMI is adequate for SNs due to their location. Hence, technologies that are used in NANNs and HANs are suitable for use in SNs. Wireless mesh topologies are the most suitable within that paradigm. Among the suitable wireless technologies for this kind of development are 802.15.4 (ZigBee), IEEE 802.11 (WiFi), and Bluetooth, which are common technologies in HANs. Among them, ZigBee provides the longest coverage range (100 m) but at the smallest data rate (240 kbps). Cellular networks and 802.22 are employed in HANs, as the coverage area can extend up to thousands of meters. Cellular networks have the advantage of wide coverage and have been used as the backbone of smart grid deployments. Their disadvantage is their low reliability for real-time tasks in sensing and power management applications. WiMAX (802.16 implementation) is another candidate that does not encounter the problem of interference issues from other technologies. It has a practical range of up to \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{l l l} \hline \hline  & **Bluetooth** & **WiFi** \\ \hline Frequency band & 2.4 GHz & 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz \\ \hline Coexistence mechanism & Adaptive frequency hopping & Dynamic frequency selection, \\  & & Adaptive power control \\ \hline Multiplexing & FH55 & DSSS, CCK, OFDM \\ \hline Future multiplexing & UWB & MIMO \\ \hline Noise adaptation & Link layer & Physical layer \\ \hline Typical output power & 1–10 mW (1–10 dBm) & 30–100 mW (15–20 dBm) \\ \hline Nominal range & 10 m & 100 m \\ \hline Maximum one-way data rate & 732 kb/s & 31.4 Mb/s \\ \hline Basic cell & Piconet & BSS \\ \hline Extension of the basic cell & Scatternet & ESS \\ \hline Topologies & Various analogies: & \\  & see Subsection Network Topologies & \\ \hline Maximum number of devices in the basic cell & 8 active devices; 255 in park mode & Unlimited in ad hoc networks (IBSS) \\ \hline Maximum signal rate & 1 Mb/s & 54 Mb/S \\ \hline Channel access method & Centralized: polling & Distributed: CSMA/CA \\ \hline Channel efficiency & Constant & Decreasing with offered traffic \\ \hline Spatial capacity & From 0. 1 to 400 Kb/s – m\({}^{2}\) & About 15 kb/s-m\({}^{2}\) \\ \hline Data protection & 16-bit CRC (ACL links only) & 32-bit CRC \\ \hline Procedures used for the network setup & Inquiry, Page & Ad hoc networks: Scan, Authentication \\ \hline Average speed in the network setup without & \(5s+n-1.28s\), where n is the number of & n.c. 1.35 ms for an unsaturated network, c \\ external interference & Slaves in the piconet, ranging from 1 to 7 & probed channels \\ \hline Authentication & Shared secret, pairing & Shared secret challenge-response \\ \hline Encryption & Eo stream cipher & RC4 stream cipher RES \\ \hline Qo5 mechanism & Link types & Coordination functions \\ \hline Typical current absorbed & 1–35 mA & 100–350 mA \\ \hline Power-save modes & Sniff, hold park, standby & Doze \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 6: A comparison of Bluetooth and WiFi n/abg protocols [21]. 8 km and speeds in the order of Mbps. Wired technologies that have been considered in smart grid deployments include Power Line Communication (PLC), which provides data rates in the order of several Mbps and has been used in SM applications.