The Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) has taken a licence with specialist US private network provider Anterix to use the local 900 MHz band for private LTE across its service areas in Texas. The agreement builds on its purchase of 900 MHz licenses from Anterix in April 2023, and will see the non-profit public utility expand its private LTE coverage to another 34 counties in the state; its network already covers 68 with the previous Anterix licences.
LCRA, in charge of 5,000 circuit miles of transmission lines, is one of the largest providers of electric power in Texas, supplying power to more than 30 retail electric cooperatives and municipalities. It also manages the lower 600 miles of the Texas Colorado River, providing water to around 1.4 million people, and operates more than 40 local public parks in Texas. Its private LTE network is geared to provide IoT asset and system monitoring and operational intelligence to drive grid resilience.
It also will also provide cellular broadband comms to workers, as well as to external users of its network, including electric cooperatives, schools, and transit authorities. New Jersey based Anterix holds 900 MHz spectrum in the mainland US, as well as in Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. Its goal is to license 900 MHz spectrum and supply 900 MHz solutions to the utility sector to drive grid modernisation. It counts Ameren, Evergy, San Diego Gas & Electric, and Xcel Energy among its energy and utility customers using its 900 MHz spectrum band in the US.
Stephen Kellicker, executive vice president for enterprise resources at LCRA, said: “The 900 MHz private LTE solution plays an important role in supporting LCRA’s mission. Since LCRA’s relationship with Anterix began, we have continued to identify additional ways to serve Texans using LTE. LCRA’s private broadband network deployment is a significant element to help address our industry’s challenges and help support the people and organizations in our service territory.”
Scott Lang, president and chief executive at Anterix, said: “Today’s follow-on agreement between Anterix and LCRA testifies to the power of the partnerships that the 900 MHz private network revolution has built across the utility sector. As the first critical infrastructure operator to expand its 900 MHz wireless broadband network, LCRA welcomes the power of private LTE connectivity to transform its operations and help ensure a resilient energy future for its customers and communities. This transaction also highlights the growing scale and impact of 900 MHz private wireless networks for supporting the utility sector’s journey toward a more reliable and secure energy future.”
He added: “The progress of this journey is particularly apparent in Texas, as LCRA’s second spectrum transaction with Anterix means that, together with our other Texas utility partners, 93 percent of Texas counties will be served by 900 MHz private wireless broadband networks. Thanks to its growing potential to harness cross-sector utility use cases like mutual assistance and storm response, we believe that Texas may become a model for other regions of the country to see more capabilities of 900 MHz utility private LTE in action.”
