Bharti Airtel (Airtel) announced that it has won a cellular IoT solution mandate from TP Western Odisha Distribution Ltd, a joint venture between Government of Odisha and Tata Power.
According to an official statement by Airtel, the mandate will see Airtel power 200,000 smart meters with IoT solution, of which, 70,000 will be delivered in the first phase.
Airtel’s IoT platform
The connectivity mandate will be augmented with Airtel’s proprietary IoT platform, “Airtel IoT Hub” which will help the utility track and monitor these smart meters with advanced analytics while maintaining extremely high reliability augmented with telco grade security. Smart metering is one of the most rapidly advancing use case for cellular IoT in India with several power distribution companies looking forward to invest in this space to prevent revenue leakage.
Smart metering is also one of the fastest growing service lines within IoT business portfolio for Airtel. The company is working with multiple state utilities in Punjab, Meghalaya, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Bihar, Airtel said.
Pivotal role
The Government of India has a big ambitious vision of replacing 300 million conventional meters with Smart Meters in the next 5 years as part of the Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) initiative. Airtel IoT aims to play a pivotal role in enabling this vision of government with its unique capabilities. Power sectors digitisation aided by Government of India’s push to usher in transparency and consumer friendly measures in this sector will see innovation such as Smart Meter become commonplace.
Reliable service
Speaking about the partnership, Gajanan Kale, Chief Executive Officer, TP Western Odisha Distribution Ltd said, We are looking forward to deploying smart meters for billing in partnership with Airtel and making best use of their IoT technology to deliver reliable and customer friendly services.”
Also read: Tata Power DDL Wins ‘Best Technical Paper’ At “Metering India 2022”
Setting an example
Speaking about the partnership, Siddharth Talawadekar, Business Head – IoT at Airtel said, “Airtel is delighted to partner with TP Western Odisha Distribution Ltd in their attempt to bring best in class technology to consumers across the state. As India’s electricity sector embraces changes ushered in by new reforms, we look forward to set an example demonstrating how technology can enable efficient service delivery solutions for companies that are customer friendly. With capabilities of remote network feasibility, advanced diagnostics and a future-ready IoT platform with readily available APIs for seamless integration, we are confident to serve our customers well in this space.”
Featured photograph (source: Airtel) is for representation only
