The Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) is advancing its long term communications strategy through the deployment of a mission critical private LTE network delivered in partnership with Ericsson. With initial services already live since early 2025, the network is becoming a key foundation for grid modernisation, secure data exchange and improved operational resilience across parts of 68 Texas counties.
LCRA has been investing heavily in radio capacity in recent years. A major step in this process has been the conversion of its 900 MHz spectrum holdings into a wireless broadband channel built specifically for mission critical tasks and secure data transport. This conversion provides the spectral basis for a private LTE system capable of delivering far higher throughput and far greater reliability than legacy narrowband radio systems. It also positions the organisation to support customers such as electric cooperatives, municipal operators and public sector agencies that require dependable communications for safety and operational tasks.
The private LTE deployment uses Ericsson’s dual mode 5G Core in a geographically redundant configuration, allowing continuous operation even when individual nodes or links are compromised. Separation of control and user planes enables efficient scaling and predictable performance for diverse traffic types. The architecture is fully 5G ready, meaning LCRA will be able to adopt features such as network slicing and advanced low latency functions without reworking the underlying system.
Radio access equipment provides wide area LTE coverage designed to reach substations, generation sites, water infrastructure, remote sensors and mobile field crews. LTE significantly improves spectral efficiency compared with earlier LMR technologies and offers lower and more consistent latency. This supports the transport of SCADA data, mission critical push to talk, status and control messages, and other operational traffic within a single managed framework. The dedicated nature of the network ensures that these essential applications are not affected by commercial traffic congestion.
LCRA gains end to end control through Ericsson’s network and security management platforms. These give operators visibility into configuration, performance, device authentication and traffic behaviour, which is vital for rapid detection of anomalies and cyber threats. The system is designed to remain operational during severe storms and power disruptions through the use of hardened sites, resilient backhaul and continuous monitoring.
Ericsson’s operations centres provide round the clock support and proactive maintenance. This reduces fault resolution times and contributes to a more predictable operational environment. As utilities adopt more automation and data driven operations, the communications layer becomes a critical dependency and requires deterministic behaviour and strict security controls. The private LTE network provides this controlled environment and supports the grid modernisation and digital transformation initiatives LCRA and its partners are pursuing.
With services already established since early 2025 and an evolution path toward 5G, the LCRA network is creating a long term, scalable platform to support the next generation of utility operations across Texas.
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