Field Communications
Microwave, cellular, serial, and radio communication links are the lifelines connecting your substations to your control center. We design, deploy, encrypt, and harden these links to prevent interception, spoofing, and unauthorized access across your entire service territory.
How we secure your field communications
Every engagement follows a structured methodology, from site survey through monitoring integration, tailored to your territory, terrain, and operational requirements.
Site Survey & Assessment
We conduct physical site surveys of substations, control centers, and field locations to document existing communication infrastructure, identify single points of failure, and assess RF conditions for wireless link planning.
Communication Design
Our engineers design end-to-end communication paths, primary and backup, for every critical site. We plan link budgets, calculate path reliability, and architect multi-path redundancy for substations that cannot afford communication loss.
Equipment Selection
We specify radios, antennas, modems, serial converters, and networking equipment based on your terrain, bandwidth requirements, and budget. Every component is selected for reliability in harsh outdoor environments.
Deployment
SkyHelm handles the full deployment, antenna mounting, radio installation, cable routing, power integration, and network configuration. We coordinate tower work, right-of-way access, and site logistics so your team doesn't have to.
Encryption & Hardening
Every communication link is encrypted and authenticated. We configure VPN tunnels, certificate-based device authentication, and access controls that prevent eavesdropping, spoofing, and unauthorized access to field devices.
Monitoring Integration
All field links are integrated into centralized monitoring with real-time visibility into link status, signal quality, latency, and throughput. Alerts trigger immediately when a link degrades, not after an operator notices a SCADA timeout.
What we deliver
Microwave Link Design
Licensed and unlicensed microwave path design with link budget analysis, interference assessment, and antenna specification for point-to-point backhaul between sites.
Cellular & LTE Failover
LTE and 5G cellular connectivity as primary or failover paths for remote sites. Managed SIM provisioning, carrier selection, and automatic failover configuration.
Serial-to-IP Conversion
Migration of legacy serial communication (RS-232, RS-485) to IP-based transport, extending the life of existing RTUs and relays while enabling modern network management.
Radio System Integration
Integration and configuration of 900 MHz, spread spectrum, and licensed radio systems for SCADA polling, distribution automation, and AMI backhaul across your service territory.
Communication Path Security
End-to-end encryption for all SCADA and field communication links using IPsec, MACsec, or application-layer encryption appropriate to your protocol and equipment.
Device Authentication
Certificate-based and pre-shared key authentication for remote field devices, ensuring only authorized equipment can communicate with your control center.
Bandwidth Optimization
Traffic shaping, QoS configuration, and protocol optimization to maximize throughput on bandwidth-constrained field links without sacrificing SCADA priority traffic.
Multi-Path Redundancy
Automatic failover between primary and backup communication paths for critical substations, microwave to cellular, fiber to radio, with sub-second switchover for protection-critical links.
The right team for your field network
Deep Utility Communications Experience
We've designed and deployed field communication networks for electric cooperatives across diverse terrain, from flat prairie to mountainous territory. We understand SCADA protocols, polling architectures, and the reliability demands of grid operations.
Security Built Into Every Link
Field communications are the most exposed attack surface in an organization's network. Every link we deploy is encrypted, authenticated, and monitored, because an unprotected SCADA path is an open door to your grid.
Full-Stack Field Deployment
We handle everything from tower surveys and antenna installation to radio configuration and network integration. Your team gets working, secure communication links, not a design document they have to figure out how to implement.
Monitoring From Day One
Every field link we deploy is integrated into centralized monitoring with real-time alerting. You get visibility into every communication path in your territory, signal quality, latency, throughput, and availability, from a single dashboard.
Ready to secure your field communications?
Whether you need new communication links, encryption for existing paths, or a complete field network redesign, our engineers are ready to deploy. Let's talk about your service territory.