Aeris, a provider for wireless machine-to-machine (M2M) fixed- and mobile-communications services, announced it will provide CDMA-based technology to M2M Communications as part of a solution for PacifiCorp, a regulated electricity company serving approximately 1.7 million retail customers in Oregon, Washington, California, Utah, Wyoming and Idaho.
The services are part of a solution that lets M2M Communications and PacifiCorp wirelessly manage energy consumption during peak usage times, according to Aeris. [NOTE: M2M Communications is not related to M2Z Networks]
Meanwhile, DirecTV has announced Broadband over Power Lines. BPL is different than telemetry-oriented Automated Meter Reading. For one thing, BPL is lots faster. DirecTV is investigating broadband alternatives that don’t have the expense of 2-way satellite dishes or WiMAX towers.
DirecTV has concluded a wholesale distribution agreement with Current Group for high-speed Internet and VoIP services over Current’s Broadband over Powerline network. It is currently under construction in Dallas-Fort Worth and Cincinnati.
The Corpus Christi WiFi Cloud was designed from the get-go for Automated Meter Reading (AMR). In order to use an AMR system, utility meters must incorporate a Meter Interface Unit (MIU) that captures the raw data from the meter and puts it into a format that can be transmitted to the AMR system.
The city began its wireless network in 2004 to automate its meter-reading system in a 20-square-mile pilot project area. It cost the city $7.1 million to install. The city sold its Wi-Fi network in March to EarthLink for $5.5 million and an additional $340,000 during the first year of service in franchise fees and other revenues. The sale gave Earthlink rights to the 147 square miles of Corpus Christi the WiFi network serves.
New meters can have the interface built-in, but older existing meters must be retro-fitted or replaced. Electric meters always have electricity available to power the MIU, but water and gas meters need battery-powered MIU’s to function. Product life is generally projected to be between 10 and 20 years, governed by the life of the battery. Most AMR systems are one-way, with meter data communicated to the utility, but some AMR systems provide two-way communication to allow polling of the meter and/or remote reprogramming of the MIU.
Wi-Fi enabled parking meters are becoming available as replacements for standard mechanical meters, offering a number of advantages over traditional jam-prone parking meters. Houston has ordered hundreds of them and Portland, Oregon has more than a thousand.
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