The Wireless Technologies for Smart Grid Communication: A Review

Since 2005, Smart Grid technology has revolutionized the electric power system industry. Researchers have shown a lot of interest in the opportunities offered by ICT (Information and Communication Technologies), to modernize the operation of electrical networks. This is possible by decarbonizing them as well as monitoring and controlling them with sophisticated communication standards. For this purpose, merging the technologies offered by electrical and telecommunication sector is very crucial. Various wireless communication standards viz. WiMAX, ZigBee, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GSM, GPRS, UMTS etc. can be exploited to develop Smart Grid Network and extend communication throughout the distributed system. This paper gives a detailed comparative study of communication protocols that can be implemented in this domain. It focuses on various aspects such as network spanning, data rates, power consumption, data security and encryption standards, data access and spread spectrum techniques, modulation and duplexing schemes for all the communication standards in Smart Grid. Hence by addressing all the critical issues, this paper provides a contemporary look in the still open research areas in Smart Grid Communication.