Cooling Systems Communicating on AT&T's Network Offer a Sustainable Solution to the Utility Industry

WINDSOR, Colo., Feb. 28, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Efficiency and flexibility are key components to growth for many of today's businesses. A company that meets the demand for growth, while offering a sustainable solution that is unique, simple, and adaptable, is a rare gem to find. Ice Energy, a business out of Windsor, Colorado is doing just that.

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120228/CG60772)

Ice Energy provides an energy storage solution for the utility industry consisting of ice machines mounted on top of medium to large-size commercial buildings. These ice machines, known as Ice Bear units, offer an alternative to power-guzzling air conditioning systems. The Ice Bear system works in conjunction with AC units by generating ice at night and cooling buildings during the hottest hours of the day.

Now, Ice Energy's machines are getting even more efficient, thanks to machine-to-machine (M2M) services from AT&T*. Using AT&T's Enterprise On-Demand platform – a custom web portal that controls wireless device inventory – Ice Energy is able to remotely manage, monitor, and diagnose every Ice Bear unit installed. Each Ice Bear system wirelessly connects to a router with an embedded SIM that transmits real-time information on the status and performance of each ice unit. This data is instantly available to Ice Energy on any web-enabled device.

Benefits to Ice Energy         

• Immediate visibility into Ice Bear machines – a critical business asset.
• Ability to remotely control, program, and adjust any Ice Bear machine, saving time and freeing up resources.
• Scalability for the company, which can now adapt to higher levels of demand and deploy more Ice Bear units at a decreased cost.
• Simplified service provisioning and billing for the system.

"Having instant access and control to the performance of our systems is a key benefit to our business," said Brian Parsonnet, Chief Technology Officer, Ice Energy. "Is the system freezing water at night? Is it connecting properly to the AC units? Do we need to issue any trouble tickets? Should we change any diagnostics? This sort of information is invaluable to running fast and effective operations."

AT&T's M2M solutions allow companies like Ice Energy to sense issues with equipment, analyze the problem, and respond to the situation in a quick and cost-effective manner. By working with M2M providers and technology adopters alike, AT&T helps lead the emergence of the real-time, adaptive business.

According to ABI Research(1), "Cumulative cellular M2M connections will rise from about 110 million connections in 2011 to approximately 365 million connections by 2016."

For more information on Ice Energy and its Ice Bear system, please view this video: http://www.ice-energy.com/product-overview-video. And to learn about AT&T's M2M solutions, watch "Transform Your Business: Everything Connected".

(1) Source: ABI Research, Cellular M2M Connectivity Services, December 30, 2011.

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

About AT&T

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SOURCE AT&T Inc.