Texas-New Mexico Power (TNMP) and NorthWestern Energy are the latest utilities to purchase 900 MHz broadband spectrum licenses from Anterix
By Donny Jackson, Editor, Urgent Communications
Anterix has announced sales with two utilities worth US$10.9 million this month, bolstering the use of 900 MHz private broadband spectrum in Texas via a deal with Texas-New Mexico Power (TNMP) and signing a contract with NorthWestern Energy—the first to stipulate utilization of 5×5 MHz in the 900 MHz band.
The chief regulatory and corporate communications officer at Anterix, Chris Guttman-McCabe said NorthWestern Energy is the first customer to sign a contract that will let the Montana, South Dakota and Wyoming utility use the recently approved 5×5 MHz spectrum, but it certainly is not expected to be the last.
“I think it is logical to assume that the anticipation is that most—if not all—of our earlier customers will evolve to 5×5,” Guttman-McCabe said during an interview with IWCE’s Urgent Communications. “Some will be quicker than others, but there certainly is an expectation on our part that—at some point—everyone will evolve to 5×5.
“It is nice to get our first 5×5 under our belt with NorthWestern.”
While the FCC voted to approve potential expansion of private wireless broadband uses in the 900 MHz band from 3×3 MHz to 5×5 MHz in February, the item only recently was published in the Federal Register, so some procedural and clearing work remains to be done before any entity can actually begin using the full 5×5 MHz, Guttman-McCabe said.
With this in mind, the NorthWestern Energy agreement calls for Anterix to make the spectrum available to the utility in two phases—first a 3×3 MHz swath and later the full 5×5 MHz swath, according to Guttman-McCabe.
“It’s two-tiered for a reason,” he said. “It’s two-tiered, in part because the licensing scheme isn’t available yet [for the full 5×5 MHz) and because we have some clearing to do.”
NorthWestern Energy has indicated that one “core element” the utility hopes to improve by leveraging 900 MHz private wireless broadband connectivity is its ability to detect and mitigate wirefires within its service footprint, Guttman-McCabe said.
“That’s not all—they want control of their remote distribution lines and distribution equipment, and they obviously want to connect to their field devices, like most of our other customers,” Guttman-McCabe said. “But they also want enhanced awareness in their high-risk wildfire areas.”
NorthWestern Energy’s director of network engineering and operations, Mark Maroney echoed this sentiment.
“The increased capacity gained from this 10 MHz broadband configuration is a solid foundation as we expand NorthWestern Energy’s wireless communications network to securely and reliably modernize the grid and energy infrastructure serving our customers,” Maroney said in a prepared statement.
“That means real-time control of remote distribution powerlines and equipment, redundant, reliable connectivity to field devices, real-time monitoring and enhanced situational awareness of our energy systems in areas at high risk for wildfire and more efficient restoration of service when outages do occur.”
Anterix President and CEO Scott Lang said he believes the 900 MHz broadband spectrum has the propagation characteristics that NorthWestern Energy needs to bolster its communications.
“NorthWestern Energy’s territory spans vast distances across remote, rugged terrain and extreme weather conditions—exactly where our 900 MHz wireless broadband spectrum delivers unmatched, mission-critical connectivity for utility communications,” Lang said in a prepared statement.
“We are proud to provide the foundation NorthWestern Energy needs to build a secure platform for a modern grid, enabling the delivery of safe, reliable energy for the communities they serve.”
Announced on Monday, the deal calls for NorthWestern Energy to pay Anterix US$7.7 million upon receipt of the full 5×5 MHz license in the 900 MHz band, according to a fact sheet about the deal released by Anterix.
As with the Northwestern Energy deal, the US$3.2 million sale to TNMP also includes a two-phase delivery of 900 MHz spectrum, but the amount of spectrum is different. TNMP—a subsidiary of TXNM Energy—initially will receive 1.4 MHz of spectrum, and that will expand later to 3×3 MHz, Guttman-McCabe said.
Guttman-McCabe said the TNMP deal means that utilities serving almost 95 per cent of counties in Texas are contracted with Anterix. TNMP still has an option to increase its ownership of the 900 MHz broadband spectrum to the full 5×5 MHz swath, if it wants in the future, he said.
TNMP President Neal Walker outlined the benefits his utility hopes to gain through its relationship with Anterix.
“Our customers depend on us for reliable power every day, and that responsibility is the driving force behind our 2025-2027 System Resiliency Plan,” Walker said in a prepared statement. “By deploying Anterix’s private wireless network, we are gaining the secure, utility-controlled communications needed to achieve faster outage response and real-time monitoring of our most critical infrastructure.
“This proven platform provides an immediate, cost-efficient solution that allows us to scale as our customers’ needs evolve, ensuring we can seamlessly integrate advanced energy technologies and deliver smarter, more dependable service to the communities we serve.”
Lang said he believes that the TNMP contract is an indication that private wireless broadband solutions operating on 900 MHz spectrum is “the proven national choice” for utilities.
“This agreement reflects the clear market momentum toward a solution that is available now, scalable to any use case, and offers a cost-to-value ratio that makes sense for the modern grid,” Lang said in a prepared statement. “By joining fellow Texas utilities in this collective move, TNMP is choosing a de-risked path to grid modernization.”
Guttman-McCabe also reiterated potential enhancements that Anterix could add to its offerings, both in terms of technology and target customers.
“You can imagine that there could logically be a satellite component to our offering,” Guttman-McCabe said. “When you think about a secure core, with dedicated spectrum and a satellite component to it, it makes it a really compelling offer.”
All of the 10 contracts signed by Anterix to date have been with utilities, but Guttman-McCabe noted that entities from other sectors could be interested in leveraging 900 MHz broadband spectrum, particularly if Anterix can enable satellite-direct-to-device communications.
“I wouldn’t limit that evolution of our product offering just to utilities,” Guttman-McCabe said.
