Patent ID: 8907657

Claim:
An intelligent electronic device for providing broadband access to a network comprising: a housing; at least one sensor coupled to at least one utility power line of an electrical power distribution system and configured for measuring at least one power parameter of the at least one utility power line and generating at least one analog signal indicative of the at least one power parameter; at least one analog to digital converter coupled to the at least one sensor, configured for receiving the at least one analog signal and converting the at least one analog signal to at least one digital signal; at least one processor configured for receiving the at least one digital signal and calculating energy consumption in the electrical circuit; and a gateway configured for receiving broadband data transmissions, demodulating the broadband data transmissions, and routing demodulated data to a computing device located downstream from the intelligent electronic device; wherein the at least one sensor, the at least analog to digital converter, the at least one processor, and the gateway are disposed in the housing.