Matthew BoyleThe UK-based company’s upcycled bright water meters will now have Sigfox connectivity thanks to a partnership between Heliot Europe, the largest sigfox operator in the continent, and smart meter vendorB4T. The Jellyfish range of meter devices from B4T track water network leaks and consumption. They can be retrofitted to guide water meters using the company’s own BRIDGE technology to make active equipment “smart” and enable asset monitoring and precise billing.
The Jellyfish combination enables water meters, which are typically read every year during “drive-by” visits using short-range radio technology, to record data weekly and send out updates electronically. For low-power transmission on IoT networks, B4T claims to “record and compress” data. The Sigfox-version of low-power wide-area IoT networking ( LPWAN), according to the report, gets around “underground connectivity challenges posed by 4G, 5G and Wi-Fi” options.  ,
Utility companies, service providers, businesses, and consumers are being pitched on the 15-year battery life devices as a more economical way to upgrade the UK’s metering infrastructure. According to the statement, “data is transmitted more effectively and shares essential insights… to make meaningful decisions about water consumption, leaks, and other… operational tasks… by converting weak short-range radio into reliable long- range Sigfox radio.”
According to the report, alerts can be set up to alert field teams to address water network leaks and to use the data for billing and maintenance. ” We considered different connectivity and concluded that low-power networks, such as Sigfox, offer a revolutionary cost/benefit model for water metering,” said Alex Barter, managing director at B4T. Our sensors can use machine learning to transmit and transform data and collect water usage in order to provide insights.
The UK market is the main focus of the partnership with Heliot Europe. According to a press release from Water UK, the UK trade association for the water industry, more than one-fifth of the country’s entire water supply—three billion litres of water—is lost to leakage every day. This loss is made worse in terms of environmental impact by the fact that three percent of all English energy consumption is spent moving water across the nation. It stated that” the entire environmental impact is… impactful and noteworthy.”  ,
The Sigfox networks are operated in Austria, Denmark, Liechtenstein, Germany, Slovenia, Switzerland, and the UK by Heliot Europe, a founding member of the 0G United Nations Association of Specfox operators ( currently numbering about 55 worldwide ). It calls for a cross-border, low-power IoT infrastructure in the area, built on Sigfox technology, as “a cost-effective alternative to the existing NB-IoTh and CAT-M ( LTE- M ) solutions from public mobile operators.”
It stated that there are approximately 420,000 Kilometres (260,000 miles) of water mains in the UK and that many of them are “ancient” and prone to leakage. ” IoT is transforming industries and solving problems globally, according to Gareth Mitchell, partner manager for Heliot Europe in the UK. The Jelly smart water meter from B4T is a shining example of how IoT can change an industry.
“Using smart water meters enables water companies, and the like, to identify the sources of leaks in real time” according to B4T’s Barter. They support much targeted investment, enable a quicker response to issues, and reduce the amount of water wasted. As consumers work to change their behavior and cut down on daily consumption, a better understanding of their water usage habits will also become extremely advantageous for them.
