The ANSI C12 protocol suite - updated and now with network capabilities

For ten years, the utility industry has been using optical port communications, defined by ANSI C12.18, and telephone modem communications, defined by ANSI C12.21, to get metering data, defined by ANSI C12.19, from the field to the back office. While the two communication protocol standards have been employed to great success, missing was a standard method for using true ldquonetworkrdquo communications for exchanging this data. Recent work has completed ANSI C12.22, a standard for interfacing to data communication networks, as well as updating the optical port and modem communications standards. This set of standards offers the industry an open and comprehensive ldquoprotocol suiterdquo to transport the newly revised data standard, ANSI C12.19. This paper focuses on how utilities can best benefit from deploying technologies that meet those standards, in particular the newly developed ANSI C12.22 networking standard, as they begin to build advanced metering infrastructures. In particular, utility requirements being refined by OpenAMI Task Force are matched against the offerings from the ANSI protocol suite.