Proven – a widely deployed technology
Long-range radio (LRR) technology is already one of the most widely deployed and proven smart metering and grid communications technologies in the world. In North America alone, upwards of 12 million smart meter and grid ‘end-points’ use long-range radio based networks from Sensus, one of the four companies collaborating through SmartReach.
Large utilities such as Southern Company, Las Vegas/Nevada in the USA, as well as PowerStream in Canada are working with Sensus to improve billing and save costs in outage management and meter reading. Over 300 different utilities are helping customers save money through reduced water leakages and by encouraging energy efficiency using Sensus LRR. The National Rural Telecoms Cooperative, which provides communications and other technologies to support rural utilities across North America, has also reviewed and recommended a Sensus LRR-based solution for smart metering and grids. You can see Sensus case studies on LRR deployments here.
To ensure the SmartReach solution can support rapid deployment in Great Britain, we are trialling long-range radio for smart metering and grids, working with utilities including Scottish Power, SSE and Thames Water, initially in locations around Reading and Ipswich, but with plans to extend to other parts of the country.