Seattle City Light

Long-Term Cellular Signal Quality Logger

Seattle City Light is replacing manual distribution switches with remotely controllable units, with 77 installed since 2016 and several hundred potential locations identified. Deployment has been limited in part by reliance on fiber optic communications, prompting the need to evaluate alternative approaches (such as cellular) that could reduce cost and accelerate installation while maintaining comparable reliability. This project team's solution supports Seattle City Light's smart switch deployment via data-driven site qualification. Students built a battery-powered LTE signal quality logger measuring RSSI, RSRQ, RSRP and SINR over months optimized for ultra-low power on our custom PCB designed for outdoor deployment. Robust firmware pairs with a scalable website to visualize device health, GPS location, ping time and outage patterns in real time. This end-to-end pipeline reduces installation risk and enables informed deployment decisions for switch locations, accelerating Seattle's shift from legacy grid infrastructure to a connected smart electric grid.