Making every MHz count
If UBBA 2025 in Charlotte was about choosing a connectivity path, UBBA 2026 in Fort Worth (October 13–15, hosted by Oncor) was about the resource every path depends on: spectrum. How do utilities secure it, and then make the most of every MHz for the next 20 years?

For Sequans, this year was also hands-on. We joined two Plugfest teams led by Itron, with Nokia, Anterix, BEC Technologies, Duquesne Light Company and ComEd, and ran LTE-M live on a dedicated 1.4 MHz carrier in Anterix 900 MHz spectrum.

Spectrum is the conversation

One week before the Summit, SpaceX announced it would acquire Grain Management’s nationwide 800 MHz portfolio (up to 14 MHz of paired spectrum) for Starlink Mobile. The deal still needs FCC approval, with closing expected in the first half of 2027 per SpaceX’s SEC filing. Some of that low-band spectrum had been discussed as a home for utility private LTE, so the news was in everyone’s mind in Fort Worth.

The message from utilities and their advisors was consistent: low-band options are shrinking and getting more expensive. Burns & McDonnell called for a protected pathway giving utilities at least a paired 5 × 5 MHz channel below 1 GHz, and sessions on owned-spectrum business cases and Anterix’s path to a full 10 MHz configuration at 900 MHz drew full rooms.

LTE-M on 1.4 MHz: start today, expand to 5G IoT later

If spectrum is scarce, every MHz must work harder. That was the point of our demo with Nokia and Itron: standards-based LTE-M running standalone on a dedicated 1.4 MHz carrier in Anterix 900 MHz spectrum (Band 106), between a Nokia private wireless network and an Itron Gen 6 cellular network interface card powered by Sequans Monarch.

The lesson: with standalone LTE-M, a utility can start deploying meters today on a small slice of its spectrum, then expand to newer 5G IoT technologies later in the rest. The Plugfest team described it in two steps:

1. Step 1: deploy meters on a standalone 1.4 MHz LTE-M carrier.
2. Step 2: use the remaining spectrum for 5G (n106), whether for broadband or for future meters and sensors on RedCap and eRedCap, while the installed base continues on LTE-M.

No hardware swap for meters already in the field, and no waiting for eRedCap to start. Monarch is already deployed in millions of smart meters on public networks; the same carrier-proven stack also works on private spectrum.

Plugfest: speed for control, efficiency for data

UBBA asked each Plugfest team what an AMI 2.0 use case really demands from the network. Our two use cases pointed in opposite directions, and that is the takeaway: one meter, very different traffic profiles, on the same network.

• Control needs speed. When the meter throttles an EV charger to protect a household panel, messages are small but must arrive fast and reliably. Those loops belong at the edge, on a network configured for low latency.
• Data needs efficiency. When AI identifies EVs and solar behind the meter, the challenge is volume, not speed, and protocol overhead can outweigh the data itself. Smart batching and reporting cadence make the difference.

The detailed results stay within the UBBA community, where every member can learn from them. That shared learning is what makes the Plugfest so valuable.

Smarter meters, more paths

As expected, AI was everywhere, from AI-RAN to edge models running inside meters. Ericsson demonstrated waveform capture and fault location, and Keith Moll of Burns & McDonnell noted that AI is now built into meters, transformers and telecom gear alike. The meter has become a grid-edge node.

Resilience also means more than one path. The Starlink session with Ameren and Southern Linc and the T-Mobile and Sempra multi-path case study showed satellite moving from backup to a planned layer. For utility endpoints, satellite connectivity is already a reality with Sequans today, and with direct-to-device moving to mainstream low-band spectrum, it will only grow. Our white paper Beyond Terrestrial Limits explains the options, from 3GPP NTN to carrier-integrated direct-to-device.

What we heard from utilities

1. Spectrum is a board-level decision. It competes for the same capital as generation and transmission, and waiting only makes it more expensive.
2. Private LTE has moved from pilots to operations. Ameren, Southern Linc, Xcel Energy, LCRA, SCE and Exelon talked about running and scaling networks, not whether to build them.
3. Spectral efficiency is a design requirement. Every MHz given to meters is one not available for protection or video.
4. Trusted supply chains matter more each year, as the FCC Covered List expands to new equipment categories.

Our commitment

Last year we wrote that utilities need confidence: connectivity that works today, adapts tomorrow and stays supported for decades. This year added efficiency. Spectrum is too valuable to waste.

That is where Sequans is focused, from Monarch LTE-M on 1.4 MHz of private spectrum today, to satellite connectivity, to our 5G eRedCap platforms in development. Thank you to our partners at Itron, Nokia, Anterix, BEC Technologies, Duquesne Light Company and ComEd, and to UBBA, for a productive week.

Read more:

• UBBA 2025 Takeaways
• Beyond Terrestrial Limits (white paper on satellite IoT)
• Simplifying IoT SKU Management with Smarter eSIM Strategies (with Itron and Kigen)
• Monarch platform