AT&T Innovation Leads To Cellular Communications Module Reference Design And Advanced Prepay Energy

DALLAS, Feb. 4, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- AT&T* expands its smart grid leadership by making it easier for utilities and solution providers to develop cellular solutions with the development of a Cellular Communications Module (CCM) Reference Design with an integrated Prepay Energy management application. The CCM Reference Design addresses the demand for accelerated cellular adoption of Internet of Things (IoT) solutions in the utility industry, especially in the mid-market utilities in the US.  

The CCM Reference Design is a hardware and software reference design that can be customized to be used in a wide variety of devices and use cases in the utility industry.  By setting a new standard for IoT solution design, AT&T makes it simple to benefit from:

• Broad coverage with AT&T LTE wireless network serving 300 million customers in the U.S.
• Open standards
• Application innovation through AT&T IoT Services using M2X and Flow Designer targeted towards solution developers for access to AT&T Network API's
• Solutions developed with reduced time to market investments
• Embedded Prepay Energy technology from PayGo^®
• Convenient Prepay and bill payment options, including cash payments at retail locations, comprehensive messaging, as well as energy-efficiency programs
• Near real-time data capabilities that enable customers to monitor usage, and provide support for utilities with outage, restoration and other notifications, all while reducing operational costs

With the adoption of prepaid cellular now reaching 32 percent in the United States¹, customers have shown a willingness to use prepaid services.  PrePay Energy management will allow consumers both convenience and energy savings of as high as 11 percent annually², according to a recent study.

"We're not just waiting for solution providers interested in developing IoT solutions to come to us with a device to certify—we're now able to help them design the entire solution, reducing their development time and cost,"   said Mike Troiano, vice president, Industrial Internet of Things, AT&T Mobility. "With the introduction of PayGo technology in our Cellular Communications Module Reference Design, we now offer a complete Prepay Energy management solution. Utilities can offer their customers more convenient options for payment while also helping their customers monitor their overall energy consumption." 

"PayGo enhances consumer engagement and satisfaction, while delivering sustainable cost savings and control for utilities and their consumers.  With the combination of AT&T's leadership and PayGo's technology solutions, consumers and utilities will both enjoy significant benefits for smart grid investments in the U.S.," said Jeffrey Weiser, CEO of PayGo.

This new smart grid application is backed by AT&T's world-class customer service and technical support. For more information on AT&T's IoT solutions visit att.com/IoT.  AT&T's new Reference Design can be made available to Smartgrid developers or utilities through agreement with AT&T.   

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

About AT&T
AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) helps millions of people and businesses around the globe stay connected through leading wireless, high-speed Internet, voice and cloud-based services. We're helping people mobilize their worlds with state-of-the-art communications, entertainment services and amazing innovations like connected cars and devices for homes, offices and points in between. Our U.S. wireless network offers customers the nation's strongest LTE signal and the nation's most reliable 4G LTE network. We offer the best global wireless coverage. We're improving how our customers stay entertained and informed with AT&T U-verse^® TV and High Speed Internet services. And businesses worldwide are serving their customers better with AT&T's mobility and highly secure cloud solutions.

Additional information about AT&T products and services is available at http://about.att.com. Follow our news on Twitter at @ATT, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/att and YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/att.

© 2015 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. AT&T, the Globe logo and other marks are trademarks and service marks of AT&T Intellectual Property and/or AT&T affiliated companies. All other marks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.

Reliability and signal strength claims based on nationwide carriers' LTE. Signal strength claim based ONLY on avg. LTE signal strength. LTE not available everywhere. Global coverage claim based on offering voice and data roaming in more countries than any other U.S. based carrier, and offering the most wireless smartphones and tablets that work in the most countries.

About PayGo® 
PayGo® is a cloud-based, utility customer engagement and payment software company. PayGo's patent pending IP enables higher customer satisfaction, lower utility operating costs and increased energy efficiency. The PayGo Prepay platform is in deployment at some of the leading global investor owned and public electric and gas utilities. More information is available at the company's website, www.paygoutilities.com.

¹  "The NPD Group, Consumer Tracking Service, Mobile Phone Tracking 2013.

² "The Effect of Prepayment on Energy Use," a report of the Prepay Energy Working Group, DEFG LLC, Washington DC, March 2013.

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SOURCE AT&T Inc.

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