Cisco expects smart grid market to grow 21 percent per year

Cisco Systems predicted this week that the market for smart-grid communications will grow to $20 billion a year over the next five years as the infrastructure is built out. The networking behemoth jumped into the smart grid game last month with the announcement of a partnership with General Electric and Florida Power & Light to build a smart grid demonstration project in Miami that will put a million wireless smart meters in every home and most businesses in Miami-Dade County. At the core of Cisco’s plan is a secure Internet protocol (IP)-based communications network to help utility companies optimize their power supply and demand from data centers and substations through neighborhood-area networks to businesses and homes. Components will include Cisco switches and routers and IP-based backhaul communications for smart meters.