China Telecom and Huawei have partnered with Shenzhen Water and Shenzhen Gas to demonstrate the benefits that NB-IoT connected smart meters would bring to both utility companies. The NB-IoT deployments have proven to be a success, with all meters deployed being able to connect in a secure manner, and offering a much improved service over previous iterations of the respective metering services.
The deployments have demonstrated that NB-IoT can collect the required data and control of the required parameters across both gas and water meters, demonstrating the NB-IoT is flexible, scalable and fit for a variety of different use cases, whilst allowing each industry to develop their service as they see fit.
The trials have proven that mobile operators are good partners for gas or water suppliers looking to deploy smart meters, and the IoT platforms and services that they are able to offer are a strong fit for industry needs. NB-IoT is a good choice for Chinese utilities, and able to meet their specific objectives through scalability, security and functionality.