Northwest Iowa Power Cooperative Deploys Exalt for Advanced Network Applications

Exalt All-Indoor Systems Connect Substations to Core Fiber Network, Eliminate Costly Lease Lines


CAMPBELL, CA--(Marketwired - Jul 9, 2013) - Exalt Communications, Inc., the leading innovator of next-generation packet microwave backhaul systems, today announced that Northwest Iowa Power Cooperative (NIPCO) in Le Mars, Iowa has deployed an Exalt microwave backhaul system to carry Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) and other advanced application data from remote substations to its core fiber network.

NIPCO is an electric power generation and transmission cooperative serving all or parts of 12 counties in northwestern Iowa. NIPCO delivers power to local substations, where its member cooperatives then deliver electricity to local homes, farms, communities, businesses, and industries. NIPCO currently owns, operates, and maintains an extensive transmission system consisting of 909 miles of 69kV line, 2 source substations and 78 distribution substations, as well as 18 switch stations. Within the AMI application, the network carries relaying, metering, two-way radio, Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA), load management, Automated Meter Reading (AMR), telephone, and point-to-multipoint data traffic.

"We needed to extend our control network from our core fiber ring out to remote substations, and doing that with fiber or leased lines would have been cost-prohibitive," said Keith Schiltz, telecommunications manager at NIPCO. "Exalt gave us a way to make those connections quickly, reliably, and cost-effectively."

The Exalt all-indoor systems deliver four T1s of capacity to each substation, providing more than enough bandwidth for power distribution applications.

"Electric cooperatives like NIPCO operate nearly half of the electric distribution lines in the United States, providing electricity for 34 million people," said Greg Gum, Exalt senior vice president of marketing and business development. "These cooperatives turn to Exalt for their critical communication needs because our systems deliver high bandwidth and high reliability, ease network migration to IP, and eliminate monthly recurring leased line costs."

About Exalt Communications
Exalt Communications provides next-generation packet microwave backhaul systems to mobile operators, broadband service providers, government agencies, and enterprises worldwide. Exalt wireless systems are used most often as a complement or cost-effective alternative to fiber. They also have been inherently designed to support the rapid build out of the 4G/LTE mobile Internet infrastructure driven by ever growing user-generated traffic and fueled by the accelerated adoption rate of smartphones and tablets. www.exaltcom.com

Contact Information:

For further information, contact:
Pamela Valentine
Vice President, Marketing Outbound & Channel
Exalt Communications Inc.
(408) 688-0288
pvalentine@exaltcom.com