The LoRa Alliance and OMS-Group have entered into a strategic collaboration to standardise smart metering IoT applications through the combined use of OMS and LoRaWAN standards.
In a joint task force, the two organisations have specified a standard use of the Open Metering System (OMS) metering language over LoRaWAN. The new specification reduces the complexity and cost of integration for utilities, which in turn increases their return on investment (ROI). A joint demo of OMS over LoRaWAN will be shown at Enlit, taking place Nov. 29 to Dec. 2, 2021, in Milan.
“Standardisation is absolutely essential to achieving massive scale for the IoT,” said Donna Moore, CEO and chairwoman of the LoRa Alliance. “Given the large scale of their deployments, gas, water and electric utilities will achieve improved business value from implementing standards-backed technologies like LoRaWAN and OMS due to the interoperability and ease of deployment provided. LoRaWAN is already proven for networking smart utility applications, from metering, to leak detection, automated shut-off, and more. Using LoRaWAN with OMS is a game-changer for the European utility market that makes deployments simpler and more cost-effective, while ensuring the interoperability of legacy meters, to maximize ROI.”
The OMS specification is an open, multi-vendor, interoperable communication standard for electricity, gas, thermal energy, and water meters, as well as submetering. OMS is based on the EN 13757-x standard, and it has been included into the EU mandate M/441 for the standardization of smart metering systems, and is compatible with the widely-used KNX standard (ISO / IEC 14543-3 = EN 50090).
Because of its special focus on low energy consumption, OMS-specifications are extremely fit for battery powered devices, like smart gas, water and thermal energy-meters as well as sensors. In addition, it is very well usable for powered systems and electricity metering.
“Utilities have long relied on the Open Metering System Specification to integrate all media––gas, heat and water, including submetering––into one system,” said Andreas Bolder, speaker of the board of OMS-Group. “Combining the benefits of the OMS language with those of LoRaWAN networking offers further standardisation of smart metering applications, increasing utilities’ readiness for IoT.”
The new joint LoRa Alliance and OMS specification enables a standard M-Bus transport over LoRaWAN, and a joint proof of concept (PoC) has validated the interoperability on all levels, from data platform down to different OMS end devices connected via the same or different LoRaWAN networks.
At Enlit, a joint demo of the OMS over LoRaWAN PoC will be featured in the LoRa Alliance and OMS-Group’s respective stands. The specification and PoC were developed jointly by members of both organizations. The specification and PoC were developed jointly by members of both organisations, and includes representation from Birdz, Diehl Metering, Elvaco, Kamstrup, Mainlink, Minol-ZENNER-Group, and Semtech.
Birdz, the IoT subsidiary of Veolia Environment Group, has been a sponsor and primary contributor to the liaison’s effort. Its CEO Xavier Mathieu stated, "This liaison and the OMS over LoRaWAN technical solution are a major achievement to bring highly efficient, standard and interoperable smart metering solutions to utilities and municipalities."
Using OMS over LoRaWAN for standard OMS applications allows utility companies that already use OMS to benefit from LoRaWAN’s advantages, including low power consumption, long range and deep indoor penetration–ideal for meters that are often underground, or in concrete or other hard-to-reach areas–and firmware updates over the air (FUOTA). The new specification also ensures interoperability with legacy OMS-based systems, frees utilities from the costly burden of deploying and maintaining radio network infrastructure by using existing LoRaWAN third-party networks. Together, this extends the systems’ useful life to achieve significant cost savings.
