On-Ramp Wireless raises $15M more to connect utilities and the Internet of Things

On-Ramp Wireless, a company that has developed unique wireless technology for machine-to-machine communication across wide areas, announced today that it has nabbed an additional $15 million in funding.

The additional investment, led by the North American energy company Enbridge, brings On-Ramp’s total third round of funding to $31 million.

On-Ramp’s wireless tech is an alternative to cellular networks, which are shared with general consumers and don’t offer much control for large companies. As On-Ramp explains it, its network takes advantage of unlicensed spectrum and specialized networking voodoo to find a signal in dense urban environments and wide rural areas.

On-Ramp’s technology makes it easy for utility companies to monitor their equipment service. The company notes that San Diego Gas & Electric was able to reduce down times from outages, as well as predict future outages, using its wireless tech. On-Ramp says oil and gas companies are its fastest-growing segment of customers.

Aside from energy grids and oil fields, On-Ramp’s technology can also be used for connecting just about any other type of device. That’s something Verizon Wireless and AT&T are also beginning to focus on with their LTE networks, and I expect we’ll see even more players trying to make the “Internet of Things” a reality.

San Diego, California-based On-Ramp has raised more than $34 million in previous rounds from investors including Third Wave Ventures and Energy Technology Ventures.