Grid Net Partners with GE Energy and Intel to Deliver Industry-Leading Smart Grid Solutions for Utilities

Business Wire, April 22, 2008

SAN FRANCISCO -- Grid Net (www.grid-net.com), a leading provider of policy-based network management system (NMS) software for the utility Smart Grid, today announced key collaborations with GE Energy and Intel Corporation, focused on providing innovative Smart Grid solutions. Grid Net has been working with the companies to architect and produce open, standards-based, industry-leading Smart Grid products and services for utilities.

The collaboration has been productive. The companies have already established the key technological underpinnings for Smart Grid solutions, which include:

* An open, interoperable Smart Grid communications and networking platform based on WiMAX, a leading 4G wireless broadband standard which is supported across the globe by the WiMAX Forum, a consortium of 522 industry leaders in the communications ecosystem, including Intel and Grid Net.

* Grid Net's PolicyNet Smart Grid NMS[TM] software, of which core components are based on the Common Open Policy Service (COPS) engine1 and Intel[R] WiMAX Connection software reference kit, enabling an open standards-based, reliable, scalable, extensible, secure, policy-based networking platform for the Smart Grid, and

* GE Energy's next-generation WiMAX SmartMeter products, which integrate Grid Net's PolicyNet firmware, and the Intel[R] WiMAX Connection 2250 and Intel[R] WIMAX Connection 2400 chipsets (formerly codenamed Baxter Peak).

"Implementing the Smart Grid requires a truly open approach, using the best products and technology," states Ray Bell, founder and CEO of Grid Net. "Our focus is all about offering utilities a broader choice of better solutions, at lower costs. That's why we're pleased to collaborate with Intel and with GE Energy, and to leverage the ongoing innovations of more than 500 leading WiMAX technology providers into a Smart Grid ecosystem of open standards-based communications, utility transmission and distribution automation, and advanced metering products and technologies."

"The deployment of Smart Grid solutions addresses the issues of a growing population and climate change by increasing the productivity, reliability, and efficiency of our current electrical power grid. In addition, these technologies will empower the consumer to manage their electricity spend and usage, which will enable all consumers to become a part of solving the energy challenge now facing our planet," says Bob Gilligan, general manager of Transmission & Distribution. "At GE Energy, we have made a choice to be actively engaged in developing these technologies to meet this challenge."

"WiMAX will enable innovative applications for a variety of industries," said Sriram Viswanathan, vice president, Intel Capital and general manager, Intel WiMAX Program Office. "Grid Net and GE's Smart Grid solution is a brilliant example of what we can expect from solutions built with WiMAX technology's performance, cost-effectiveness and standards-based, open architecture."

Smart Grids Require Truly Open Solutions

Grid Net is catalyzing an ecosystem of providers who believe that the optimal technology for implementing and managing the Smart Grid should be

* Built on open standards and protocols, so that utilities can choose the most innovative and cost effective solutions, and avoid "single vendor, proprietary product lock-in" seen in other solutions

* High performing and scalable, in order to cost-effectively manage tens of millions of customer energy service delivery points, meters, and other distribution automation devices

* Integrated, interoperable and optimized, to leverage innovations from all technology and product providers, the Smart Grid solution ecosystem of vendors, customers, and standards groups

* Resilient and adaptive, so that the Smart Grid can self-heal points of failure, or provision new services rapidly and cost-effectively - self-healing, self-provisioning, and self-optimizing

* Secure and reliable, so that Smart Grid devices and services are well protected, and meet both governmental and industry Smart Grid security specifications, guidelines, and recommendations

To learn more about Grid Net's policy-based Smart Grid solutions, please visit www.grid-net.com.

About Grid Net

Founded in 2006, Grid Net (www.grid-net.com) is a leading provider of open, interoperable, policy-based network management software, and communications product reference designs for the utility industry's Smart Grid. Applying broadly adopted, proven innovations from enterprise software and telecommunications networking, Grid Net's PolicyNet Smart Grid NMS[TM] software enables the delivery of secure, scalable and high-performing Smart Grid services, including Smart Metering and Distribution Automation. In 2008, Grid Net licensed its WiMAX smart meter reference design to GE Energy, for use in GE's advanced meter product family based on the PolicyNet software. Grid Net is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

1 The Common Open Policy Service (COPS) Protocol is part of the IETF's Internet Protocol suite. COPS specifies a simple distributed model for supporting policy control for advanced networking services, such as Quality of Service and Security; and now Smart Grid network and application services.