2010-07-05 17:32

State Grid Corp of China signed an agreement with China Telecom over the weekend to cooperate in power grid and telecommunication areas, a move enabling China’s largest grid operator to take part in the triple network project, the China Business News reported Monday.

The triple network project aims to converge the telecommunications, Internet and broadcast networks.

State Grid and China Telecom will cooperate in infrastructure construction, to jointly expand the optical fiber access to households, and build up the smart grid network.

The access to optical fiber will allow users to make phone calls over Internet Protocol, surf the Internet and watch television. It will make it possible to control air-conditioners, water heaters through internet of things, according to the paper.

The smart grid is an upgrade of power grids, from their normal method of "broadcasting" power from a few central power generators to a large number of users, to instead be capable of routing power in more optimal ways to respond to a very wide range of conditions.

State Grid released standards for the smart grid industry last month to unify the fledging industry and maintain its edge in the booming market.

China selected 12 cities nationwide to pilot its triple network project on July 1.