Pike Research forecasts in its recent report that private networks will continue to represent the majority of the smart grid communications market,
but the revenue opportunity for service providers will increase significantly, rising from $2.2 billion in 2009 to $4.9 billion by 2016. The firm anticipates that much of this growth will benefit
wireless
network operators, who will enjoy a six-fold increase in smart grid revenues
during the forecast period.
“‘Public carrier networks offer utilities the ability to leverage existing infrastructure rather than building and operating their own networks,’ says research director Bob Gohn. ‘And while service costs have traditionally not been as low as utilities would like over the past few years, public carriers are now getting more aggressive in their pricing, which we expect will yield significant dividends in the form of expanded utility contracts over the next several years.'”
