4. Future of communication systems and exchange formats

4.1 Factors in the evolution of communication protocols

With the liberalization of the energy market, an ever-increasing amount of data must be supplied in real time by energy metering equipment to players in deregulated markets.

The introduction of complex tariffs and load curves to adjust generation capacity to demand requires efficient, secure communication protocols for data collection, publication and billing applications.

The boom in information and new telecommunication technologies for mobile telephony & videophony on telecom operator networks is leading to new communication infrastructures, such as M2M (Machine to Machine), which are impacting protocols for industrial applications.