Hanging out with an intelligent network for the last several years has definitely raised the IQ of the electrical grid. And it’s a good thing, because with the Obama Administration and its stimulus spending targeting energy independence and electricity delivery efficiency, it’s time for the grid to show off its smarts.

SmartGrid, for those who aren’t that familiar with the concept, is all about enhancing the reliability of the electric grid, improving customer service, and minimizing the environmental impact of energy delivery.

While the ways in which the network is supporting these initiatives have evolved, the support itself is something that Sprint has been providing for years. It started with embedded CDMA and iDEN-based technologies for telemetry and automation, and has progressed over time to encompass optimized data services, secure IT solutions, and all types of wireless and wireline services. In fact, as more employees become mobile, the enterprise WAN is extended beyond the tethered computer to the mobile device.

Among the strategic support for utilities’ SmartGrid initiatives are applications such as the Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), Demand-Response (DR), and Distribution Management System (DMS), in addition to the old, familiar SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition).

SmartGrid is actually a key business area for Sprint, since the foundation of these types of initiatives lie in advanced communications, IT, distributed sensing, and comprehensive data management. If you haven’t seen our news announcement, Sprint is making it a point to show just how important our network is to the SmartGrid initiatives that are considered critical to meeting this nation’s future energy needs. We are playing an increasingly vital role in utility initiatives, by virtue of the versatility of our digital networks and wireless broadband services.

Thanks to the intelligence of the telecommunications network, the efficiency of the electrical grid continues to improve, to the benefit of consumers, the utilities, and the environment. Our Smart Grid initiative is just another example of how Sprint brings disparate technologies and devices together to enable the network to work seamlessly together.