{"id":13252,"date":"2017-02-22T15:45:52","date_gmt":"2017-02-22T15:45:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/technologies\/internet-of-things\/?page_id=13252"},"modified":"2024-12-16T14:47:22","modified_gmt":"2024-12-16T14:47:22","slug":"mobile-iot-sectors-utilities","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/technologies\/internet-of-things\/mobile-iot-sectors-utilities\/","title":{"rendered":"Mobile IoT – Sectors Utilities"},"content":{"rendered":"

Utilities<\/h2>\n

Up-to-date information about the utilisation of energy and water infrastructure can be used to cut waste and improve efficiency. The information collected by connected energy and water meters, for example, can help consumers and businesses to reduce usage, while helping utilities to better balance supply and demand, and identify leaks and faults.<\/p>\n

Although energy meters are generally connected to the grid, smart water meters tend to be battery-operated, so they need to be power efficient. Moreover, in many countries, water meters are located outside of homes and\/or underground, so they cannot use a home\u2019s Wi-Fi network for backhaul connectivity.<\/p>\n

New low power wide area (LPWA) connectivity provides a less expensive and less complex means of connecting water meters than earlier technologies.\u00a0 By extending the battery life of meters, LPWA can enable a utility to increase the time between servicing. Lengthening the service cycle from 2-3 years to 10-15 years would dramatically improve the utility\u2019s return on investment. \u00a0As smart water meters tend to communicate comparatively small (100s of bytes, at maximum) payloads of metering data, power-efficient, low bandwidth network technologies are particularly well-suited this application.<\/p>\n

Employing 3GPP-based LPWA technologies will enable an operator to connect meters using its existing cellular infrastructure, as well as taking advantage of cost-effective standardised device hardware. The 3GPP technologies are also designed to support two-way communications, which are required to support time synchronization and firmware updates for digital water meters.<\/p>\n

In Spain, Vodafone and Aqua de Valencia are piloting the use of NB-IoT to connect water meters. The utility chose 70 meters in difficult-to-reach locations, including underground sites, and Vodafone has connected them to a trial NB-IoT network. Vodafone says NB-IoT has been able to deliver a wireless signal to all 70 locations, some of which are beyond the reach of the existing GSM network. The pilot has confirmed Aqua de Valencia\u2019s view that NB-IoT will significantly increase the efficiency of meter readings and could potentially be used to enable additional services.<\/p>\n

In Chile, Telef\u00f3nica is working with the leading water utility company to remotely read meters, providing staff efficiencies by not having to send someone out to manually check the meters. Telef\u00f3nica has upgraded its base station to support the NB-IoT for the pilot using the 850MHz frequency band.<\/p>\n

China\u00a0 Telecom\u00a0 is\u00a0 piloting NB-IoT\u00a0 to\u00a0 enable\u00a0 smart\u00a0 water\u00a0 and\u00a0 gas\u00a0 metering\u00a0 on\u00a0 a\u00a0 pre-commercial\u00a0 network\u00a0 in\u00a0 Shenzhen,\u00a0 Guangdong\u00a0 province.\u00a0 The\u00a0 operator\u00a0 is\u00a0 using NB-IoT\u00a0 in 800MHz spectrum to collect data from 140 water meters and 50 gas meters in partnership with\u00a0 Shenzhen\u00a0 Water\u00a0 Group\u00a0 and\u00a0 Shenzhen\u00a0 Gas\u00a0 respectively.\u00a0 The\u00a0 pilots\u00a0 are\u00a0 designed\u00a0 to verify\u00a0 an\u00a0 end-to-end\u00a0 NB-IoT\u00a0 solution,\u00a0 including\u00a0 the\u00a0 terminals,\u00a0 base\u00a0 stations, core\u00a0 network, IoT\u00a0 platform\u00a0 and\u00a0 service\u00a0 application.\u00a0 The operator plans to increase the number of connected water metres to 1,300 by the end of February 2017 with the service being launched commercially at the end of June.<\/p>\n

China Mobile has teamed up with ZTE to use NB-IoT connectivity to enable the remote monitoring of water quality. In this case, the low power wide area technology is used to regularly transmit data on water quality to a public agency. For smart lighting, China Mobile is working with Huawei and Insigma Group to enable the brightness of street lamps to be remotely controlled via an NB-IoT module in the power controller.<\/p>\n

Mobile operator NOS and utility company EDP Distribui\u00e7\u00e3o (EDPD) are piloting NB-IoT to support smart energy grid applications in Portugal. 100 smart meters, some of which are positioned deep within buildings, have been connected to two base stations in the Parque das Na\u00e7\u00f5es district of Lisbon.\u00a0 Similarly in Denmark, TDC Group is piloting smart water and heat meters using a NB-Io-enabled base station to give utilities and their customer\u2019s better visibility of consumption and improve efficiencies.<\/p>\n

Mobile operator Deutsche Telekom is also piloting the use of NB-IoT for smart metering and smart lighting in several locations in The Netherlands, including Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Eindhoven. DT has found customers value the additional security afforded by using SIM cards to authenticate devices on a cellular network operating in licensed spectrum.<\/p>\n

Danish mobile operator, TDC, is working with smart meter supplier Kamstrup to enable water and heat pilots. TDC connected meters will give utilities and their customers better visibility of the amount of water and heat being consumed, enabling them to become more efficient.<\/p>\n

In the US, AT&T is is working with Capstone Metering to trial smart water meters with LTE-M technology. AT&T is expecting LTE-M to offer significantly extended battery life, smaller modules, and improved coverage, particularly in buildings and in subterranean locations, than conventional cellular technologies. Some of the smart meters involved in the pilot are below ground and deep in basements.<\/p>\n