Around the world, the electricity supply industry is turning to ‘smart’ meters to lower costs, reduce emissions and improve the management of customer supplies. Smart meters collect detailed consumption information and using this feedback consumers can better understand their energy usage which in turn enables them to modify their consumption to save money and help to cut carbon emissions. A smart meter can be defined in many ways, but generally includes an element of two-way communication between the household meter and the utility provider to efficiently collect detailed energy usage data. Some implementations include consumer feedback beyond the energy bill to include online web data, SMS text messages or an information display in consumers’ premises. Providing a cost-effective, reliable communications mechanism is one of the most challenging aspects of a smart meter implementation. In New Zealand, the utilities have embraced smart metering and designed cost effective ways for it to be implemented. The New Zealand government has encouraged such a move to smart metering by ensuring the energy legislation is consistent with the delivery of benefits to the consumer while allowing innovation in this area. On the ground, AMS is a leader in the deployment of smart metering and associated services. Several of New Zealand’s energy retailers were looking for smart metering services for their residential and small business customers which will eventually account for over 500,000 meters when the multi-year national deployment program is concluded. To respond to these requirements, AMS needed to put together a solution that included data communications between each meter and the central data collection point and the solution proposed by Vodafone satisfied that requirement.

Enexis is an independent grid operator and one of the largest energy distributors in the Netherlands. Working with energy suppliers, it manages 2 million gas and 2.6 million electricity connections to customers in seven provinces, representing approximately one third of the Dutch market. In 2008, a European Union (EU) directive stipulated that 80% of energy customers must be able to monitor energy consumption by 2020. The Dutch government responded by making a legal requirement for energy operators to install smart metering technology in homes. To meet these targets, Enexis will need to deploy approximately 5 million smart meters, each transmitting energy consumption data once a day, every day. Since 2011, Enexis no longer installs conventional meters, every new meter installed in the grid is a smart meter. This means that during the first few years of rollout, smart meters are installed across the grid. To achieve this, Enexis had several options. Routing data via Power Line Connections (PLC) was impractical because, to work effectively, entire districts would have to install smart meters simultaneously. With the initial rollout limited to replacing faulty meters and new installations, this was not viable. Transmitting data via WiFi, another option, would mean home owners needing a guaranteed connection. “Because we install smart meters that are scattered across our distribution network, the most effective solution was GPRS over M2M SIMs,” says Lonneke Driessen-Mutters, Smart Metering Operations Manager at Enexis. M2M SIMs installed in smart meters would be able to transmit data via Vodafone’s comprehensive mobile coverage in the Netherlands, with no homeowner involvement and minimum installation effort. Enexis invited a number of mobile communications suppliers in the Netherlands to tender. After careful consideration, Vodafone was selected based on cost and service commitments. In addition, Enexis already had a relationship with Vodafone, as they provide approximately 3,000 of the company’s voice and data connections, so they knew the service they could expect. “We’re owned by local government, so our money is public money. The solution had to be cost effective as we have to be careful what we spend,” says Driessen-Mutters.

The telematic solution provides this vital premium-adjusting information. The solution also helps detect and deter vehicle or trailer theft – as soon as a theft occurs, monitoring personnel can alert the appropriate authorities, providing an exact location.“With more and more insurance companies and major fleet operators interested in monitoring driver behaviour on the grounds of road safety, efficient logistics and costs, the market for this type of device and associated e-business services is growing rapidly within Italy and the rest of Europe,” says Franco.“The insurance companies are especially interested in the pay-per-use and pay-as-you-drive applications while other organisations employ the technology for road user charging.”“One million vehicles in Italy currently carry such devices and forecasts indicate that the European market will increase tenfold by 2014.However, for our technology to work effectively, we needed a highly reliable wireless data network to carry the information between the vehicles and monitoring stations.”

Microlise is among only a handful of players in the Transport Management Systems space that offer a one stop solution and service capability. Its investment in research and development needs to be underpinned by a robust, global connectivity platform, enabling the reliable transmission of data from vehicles to customers.

Ecolibrium’s SmartSense solution connects sensors to energy infrastructure within a factory. It then sends energy consumption data, temperature and environmental data to a central platform. This data can be sent each minute, providing a near real-time view of energy consumption and analytics on where problems occur, what they are and recommendations on how to fix them. To work, each device needs robust connectivity that is simple to manage and consistent in pricing.

The idea for the Moocall calving sensor came about when one of the Moocall founding team, Niall Austin lost a heifer and her calf due to a difficult calving back in 2010. He had a theory that a device to measure tail movement might be able to predict the onset of calving and brought the idea to the other Moocall founders Michael Stanley and Emmet Savage. After many months of research and development the MooCall device was born, however they needed robust and reliable, global connectivity with roaming capability to ensure that this critical data could be transferred the crucial moment. Vodafone IoT worked closely with MooCall to implement a solution that works seamlessly every time, wherever the cow might be situated.

ASD Healthcare’s Cubixx connected refrigeration solution was initially aimed at larger hospitals and pharmacies, utilising Wi-Fi or local area networks (LAN) for connectivity. With phase two, Cubixx would be rolled out to smaller practices and patients homes. The issue for ASD Healthcare was finding a single connectivity provider to cover the entire U.S., and facilitate international expansion.

CSL invented integrated dual signalling back in 1996 and pioneered the move from wired to wireless technology in the electronic security industry. Today, its solutions protect over 350,000 premises throughout Europe. Working with Vodafone IoT the company is using its pedigree gained in the Fire & Security sector to move into new verticals where robust critical connectivity adds value to M2M/IoT applications.

Ekso Bionics products unlock human strength, endurance, and mobility potential, with broad applications across medical and industrial markets. One of their products is the robotic exoskeleton. This is a ready to wear, battery-powered robot that is strapped over the users’ clothing, enabling individuals to achieve mobility, strength, or endurance not otherwise possible. In 2016, Ekso Bionics received the first FDA clearance exoskeleton for use with stroke and spinal cord injury levels to C7.

Custodia Systems is a security consultancy based in the UK. It was founded in 2005 by Peter Thompson, a former Goldman Sachs technology and engineering lead, with start up capital of £4,000 (approximately €4,800). It is now the global distributor of Appello tracking devices and its products currently protect £150 million (€180 million) of construction machinery in the UK.The Appello device is a small, portable unit (no bigger than a smartphone) with a battery life of up to two years. It has no external wiring and cannot be located by scanning devices used by professional thieves like GPS (Global Positioning System) units.The device is hidden, for example among the engineering of a piece of plant machinery and sends out a regular signal to mark its present location. Worldwide, Custodia Systems claims 80% of stolen equipment is recovered and back with its owners within eight hours.To ensure consumer confidence and provide a competitive advantage, Custodia Systems needed a fail-safe communications infrastructure that needed to be international, reliable and as accurate as possible. In addition, to support the launch of the AppelloGEO – a new product that can be used globally – Custodia Systems needed a global platform and fixed price international tariffs.