Silver Spring Networks Selects Exegin's ZigBee PRO Stack

February 26, 2009 — Silver Spring Networks, the leading provider of Smart Grid networking technology and services, announced today an agreement to license the Exegin ZigBee PRO protocol stack and Smart Energy profile.

By providing ZigBee-enabled home area networking (HAN) solutions for Smart Energy, Silver Spring Networks further extends its leadership position in Smart Grid networking beyond the last mile, into the home. Silver Spring's ZigBee-enabled smart meters will allow two-way communication between the meter and a variety of devices in the home including smart thermostats, in-home displays, and load controllers, giving consumers the ability to monitor and control their energy usage in near real time.

"Silver Spring Networks is delighted to collaborate with Exegin," said John O'Farrell, Executive Vice President, Silver Spring Networks. "We have established ourselves as the preeminent Smart Grid networking solution by providing pervasive, reliable, responsive connectivity to utility distribution devices. This relationship extends the network into the premise, allowing utilities and consumers to leverage a rich ecosystem of ZigBee partners."

Silver Spring Networks selected Exegin's technology after a thorough examination of ZigBee PRO stacks suitable for its HAN-enabled electric meters. Exegin, a pioneer in ZigBee bridging and gateway implementations, offers a lean, yet efficient 32-bit ZigBee PRO feature set ideally matched to Silver Spring Networks' high performance, future-proof Network Interface Card.

"Our partnership with Silver Spring Networks provides Exegin with a solid foundation in Smart Energy, the fastest growing segment of the ZigBee market," said Les Mulder, President of Exegin. "We are especially pleased that our technology will help utilities and consumers minimize their environmental impact."

"The partnership between Silver Spring Networks and Exegin punctuates the expanding ecosystem of technology providers leveraging the ZigBee standard," said Benno Ritter, Vice President of Marketing at the ZigBee Alliance. "Their combined efforts allow both utilities and consumers to reap the benefits of time-differentiated pricing and networked demand responsive applications."