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Smart meters gather precise data to help utilities build smart grids to better manage resources .
costs while providing the assured performance that only a managed cellular connectivity solution can offer .
The need for smart metering
Smart metering is utilities ’ most prominent use of IoT , with hundreds of millions of water , gas and electricity meters being deployed globally each year . As well as giving consumers more control over usage , smart meters gather precise data to help utilities build smart grids to better manage resources , especially with the growing deployment of renewable energy sources .
It ’ s no small task to provide reliable connectivity for huge numbers of smart meters , and there are currently more connected devices to manage and support , located in more places , than ever before . That requires uninterrupted IoT connectivity and the ability to manage all those devices in a seamless , automated way .
For example , 3ID is delivering 4G and LTE services to more than 10,000 villages across the country . It also offers network services to several customers throughout
Indonesia . One of its customers has committed to install nearly 100 million smart meters across the country over the next seven years . The plan supports the government ’ s aim to reduce its dependence on oil , increase the use of renewables to 23 % of the national energy mix by 2025 and achieve 100 % rural electrification . Further , this utility company is seeking to cut costs and improve its customer experience .
Smart meters will reduce the need for staff to recalibrate older traditional meters – a manual , costly process that has to be done in a special testing lab . By replacing most of its traditional meters ( which often miscalculate power consumption ) with smart meters that can collect energy usage data in real time , the utility company hopes to provide its customers with more accurate information while also bringing greater automation to the billing process . Being able to dynamically monitor consumption and usage patterns across the grid will also improve load balancing efforts as more renewable energy sources are brought into Indonesia ’ s energy mix .
How 3ID enabled its utility customers to achieve their goal
To help achieve these goals and support a customer base that ’ s spread out over Indonesia ’ s many islands , the utility company turned to 3ID to provide connectivity for the smart meters across the country . 3ID had to
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