Project Led by Hughes in Brazil Helps Copel Win Latin American Telecommunications Award
LTE Private network integrates power grid infrastructure with the operations center, enhancing response speed to faults and weather events.
São Paulo, 26 de março de 2026 – Hughes do Brasil, a subsidiary of Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES) Hughes in Brazil, led the deployment of a private telecommunications network for Companhia Paranaense de Energia (Copel). The project earned the América Latina Telecom Award—one of the industry’s leading recognitions for utilities in the region. The award was announced during the opening of the UTCAL Summit 2026, organized by the Utilities Technology Council Latin America (UTCAL), which brings together electricity, gas and water utilities, regulators, and technology companies.
Hughes served as the systems integrator, responsible for the end-to-end delivery of Copel’s private telecommunications network. The company was in charge of designing the solution architecture, deploying towers, securing the necessary licenses, and integrating the various systems that make up the communications infrastructure.
“The energy sector is undergoing a profound digital transformation, and connectivity is at the core of this evolution. Projects like Copel’s demonstrate how highly reliable private networks can expand automation, enhance grid resilience, and improve customer service,” said Eugenio Mrozinski Neto, director at Hughes in Brazil.
To enable the network deployment, Hughes coordinated an ecosystem of 14 technology providers. The solution connects field assets—such as substations, reclosers, and smart meters—to Copel’s operations center in Curitiba, in the state of Paraná. This allows the company to monitor grid performance in real time and perform remote switching operations, reducing response times to faults and power outages.
The first phase of deployment was carried out in the Curitiba metropolitan area, with plans for gradual expansion to other metropolitan regions across the state.
Based on Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology, the network operates on dedicated spectrum licensed by Brazil’s National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) under the Private Limited Service (SLP) model, ensuring greater reliability and security for mission-critical applications in the power sector.
The initiative also reinforces Copel’s digitalization strategy. The company already has more than 2 million smart meters installed in Paraná and continues to modernize its communications infrastructure to support the evolution of the smart grid.