Radio teleswitch
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The Radio Teleswitch Service (RTS) has its origins in the energy management projects initiated in the United Kingdom by the Electricity Council in the early 1980s. Three projects investigated the feasibility of using the telephone network, the distribution network and national radio for large scale energy management purposes. The radio teleswitch project was chaired by Walter Waring deputy chairman of Eastern Electricity and supported by the BBC. The idea of phase modulating control and data signals onto the low frequency carrier wave used for broadcasting the BBC Radio 4 programmes was tested. The BBC was satisfied that there was no discernible distortion of its broadcast service and no infringement of its Royal Charter. The technique won the Queen's award for technology while its application for controlling consumer tariffs and loads was approved by the Home Office. The project was funded by the CEGB and the mainland electricity boards who were each allocated one of 16 message channels. One channel was reserved for testing and the final one was allocated to Northern Ireland when it joined the project.
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[edit] Operation
Each of the user companies (The RTS Users, or Service Providers) have their own database on the Central Teleswitch Control Unit (CTCU), which is a VAX computer running VMS for reliability and minimum downtime. The database defines how each group of teleswitches belonging to the user-company will control the loads and meter registers connected to it. The CTCU uses the database and certain rules to generate and control a continuous string of messages which it forwards to the BBC for transmission. Although each message will be received by all installed teleswitches, the unique user and group-codes carried by the message ensure that only teleswitches carrying the same combination of codes will act on it.
[edit] Service Role
For convenient and practical operation of the system the Users needed to set up or appoint an organisation to take overall responsibility for managing the delivery of the service. The organisation needs to hold nominal ownership of the system and IPR and as an agent to enter into and manage contracts necessary for the delivery of the service. The managing agent also provides co-ordination and liaison roles between all the parties concerned.
[edit] Formal Agreements
The Electricity Association (EA), which was previously known as the Electricity Council, entered into a renewed formal agreement with the BBC in 1996 as an agent of the users. The EA had also negotiated an agreement with the National Grid Company (NGC) concerning the servicing of the CTCU. Since 2004 the functions of EA regarding this contract have been taken over by the Energy Networks Association.
[edit] References and more information
- Adapted from: "An introduction to the Radio Teleswitch Service". Shau Sumar - EA internal document, 2003.
- British Standards: BS 7647:1993 "Radio teleswitches for tariff and load control"
- Energy Networks Association
