Remote data collection system for distribution network based on GPRS and VPN

A new remote data acquisition system for distribution network was proposed and experimented in this paper. The previous wired and wireless communication mode´s faults which are the high construction costs, serious data losses, low capacity of resisting disturbance and poor security have been analyzed. The remote data acquisition system whose data transmission platform was consisted of general packet radio service (GPRS) combined with the tunnel transmission technique of virtual private network (VPN) was proposed and it also overcame all the faults that the previous communication mode possessed combined with the current development situation of the modern communication technique. An experiment was done to the accuracy of the data communications. The results declare that the communication mode with GPRS and VPN can span an independent, secure and steady communication tunnel, which does not only realize the steady wireless communication between distributed RTU and monitoring center but also the reliability and security of the data transmission. The whole system can make the data acquisition and communication system for distribution network unattended, low costs and low maintenance costs combined with the edited software program on the host computer.