Silver Spring Networks

Silver Spring Networks was founded in July 2002 as Real Time Techomm in Butler, Wisconsin, near Milwaukee.{{cite news |title=Capital is needed to keep success stories in state |author=Tom Still |date=July 16, 2011 |work=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel |url=http://www.jsonline.com/business/125693073.html |accessdate=September 3, 2011 }}{{Cite web |title=Notice of Sale of Securities |work=Form D |publisher=US Securities and Exchange Commission |date=August 2, 2002 |url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/vprr/02/9999999997-02-045873 |accessdate=October 19, 2013 }}

Original founders included Eric Dresselhuys who had worked on related technology since 1995, and Keith Burge.

In 2002, funding came from Denver angel investor Jack Thompson.

The company adopted the name of the street in Milwaukee of its original office and was relocated to San Mateo, California in 2003. At this time, Foundation Capital invested $8 million in the company and Raj Vaswani joined the founding team. Ray Bell became interim CEO and chief technology officer, but left to found Grid Net in 2005.{{cite news |title=EnerNOC Returns 260% From Lowering Lights in 2009's Power Grid |author=Edward Robinson |date=August 14, 2009 |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aZwH8aIZrsWo |accessdate=September 3, 2011 }}

Other investors included Northgate Capital, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Google.{{cite news |url=http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/feb2009/tc20090218_821278.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090222225222/http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/feb2009/tc20090218_821278.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 22, 2009 |work=Business Week |author=Spencer E. Ante |date=February 18, 2009 |title=Silver Spring: A Growing Presence in Green Tech |accessdate=September 3, 2011 }} The company moved its headquarters to San Jose in 2016.{{cite news |title=Silver Spring Networks expands into north San Jose |author=George Avalos |date=November 11, 2015 |url=http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_29061448/silver-spring-networks-expands-into-north-san-jose |accessdate=June 10, 2016}}

The first large pilot deployment was started in 2007 with Florida Power & Light (FPL) in southern Florida.

In 2008, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) signed an agreement to provide the company's smart meters, and remained the largest customer for at least several years.

On July 7, 2011, Silver Spring Networks filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to raise up to $150 million in an initial public offering.{{Cite web |title=Form S-1: Registration Statement Under The Securities Act of 1933 |author=Silver Spring Networks, Inc. |publisher=US Securities and Exchange Commission |date=July 7, 2011 |url= https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1180079/000119312511184100/ds1.htm |accessdate=September 3, 2011 }}

On March 13, 2013, Silver Spring Networks became a public company via an initial public offering on New York Stock Exchange, raising $81 million.{{Cite news |title='Smart grid' biz Silver Spring Networks pops 29% in IPO debut| work=VentureBeat |author=Sean Ludwig |date=March 13, 2013 |url=https://venturebeat.com/2013/03/13/silver-spring-networks-ipo-nyse/ |accessdate=November 28, 2017 }}{{Cite web |url=https://www.nyse.com/about/listed/ssni.html |title=Silver Spring Networks, Inc. |work=NYSE Listings Directory |accessdate=October 19, 2013 }}

Silver Spring Networks developed equipment that creates wireless mesh networks and transmits energy consumption data between meters, consumers and utilities in real time. The software indicates how much money is spent on electricity and indicates how much can be saved if one switches to energy-efficient models.{{cite news |title=Nearly profitable smart grid developer Silver Spring Networks files for IPO |author=Matthew Lynley |url=https://venturebeat.com/2011/07/08/silver-spring-networks-ipo/ |work=VentureBeat |date=July 8, 2011 |accessdate=September 3, 2011 }}

The meters in the PG&E deployment include two radios: one in the unlicensed ISM band of 902 to 928 MHz for communication back to the utility provider, and another intended for future communication to a home network.{{cite web |title=Supplemental Report on An Analysis of Radiofrequency Fields Associated with Operation of the PG&E SmartMeter Program Upgrade System |author=Richard A. Tell |author-link=Richard Anthony Tell |date=October 27, 2008 |publisher=PG&E |url=http://www.pge.com/includes/docs/pdfs/shared/edusafety/systemworks/rfsafety/rf_fields_supplemental_report_2008.pdf |accessdate=September 3, 2011 }}

The technology has low bit rate requirements, but also needs to be very low cost.{{cite web |title=the Smart Grid |date=March 19, 2008 |author=George Flammer |work=Presentation to IEEE 802.15 |url=https://mentor.ieee.org/802.15/dcn/08/15-08-0199-00-wng0-the-smart-grid.ppt |access-date=September 3, 2011 }}

Silver Spring was a partner with more than 40 companies and provides additional applications to utilities and customers on the Smart Energy Platform like smart thermostats, in-home displays, and electric vehicle (EV) charging technology.{{cite news |title=Smart grid's Silver Spring to unveil Prius charging technology|url=https://venturebeat.com/2011/01/05/smart-grid-silver-spring-prius-plug-in-hybrid-charging-stations/ |work=Venture Beat |date=2011-01-05}}

Silver Spring began its technology offering with a smart grid network based on Internet Protocol (IP) technology, which was advocated for the smart grid by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and other smart grid experts.{{cite news |title=It's Official: The Future of the Smart Grid Is IP |author= Katie Fehrenbacher |url=http://gigaom.com/cleantech/its-official-the-future-of-the-smart-grid-is-ip/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100909131055/http://gigaom.com/cleantech/its-official-the-future-of-the-smart-grid-is-ip/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 9, 2010 |work=GigaOm |date=September 7, 2010 |accessdate=September 3, 2011 }} Silver Spring expanded on the network to smart grid application software that includes demand response (DR), demand management and other services for utilities and their customers.{{cite news |title=The evolution of Silver Spring Networks (and what it means to the rest of us) |work=Smart Grid News |author=Jesse Berst |date=February 15, 2011 |url=http://www.smartgridnews.com/artman/publish/Technologies_Communications/The-evolution-of-Silver-Spring-Networks-and-what-it-means-to-the-rest-of-us-3510.html |accessdate=September 3, 2011 }}

In October 2009 Silver Spring acquired Greenbox Technology, and developed its web-based software into a product called CustomerIQ.

In an Oklahoma Gas & Electric pilot program involving 2,500 homes in the summer of 2010 on Silver Spring’s Smart Energy Platform, participants saw an average energy use drop of up to 33 percent during the highest price periods. The pilot consisted of several groups using Silver Spring’s web-based energy management solution as well as smart thermostats and in-home energy displays on various dynamic pricing schemes.{{cite news |title=OG&E Finds Time of Use Pricing Sweet Spot|url=http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/oge-finds-tou-pilot-sweet-spot/ |work=Greentech Media |date=2011-02-14}}

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• {{cite web |url=http://www.silverspringnet.com/ |work=Official web site |title=Silver Spring Networks Smart Grid Solutions - Energy Efficiency & Utility Networking Technology Company}}

Category:Wireless networking

Category:Companies based in San Jose, California