Vodafone Idea said it is already testing automatic metering infrastructure at Genus’s R&D facility in Jaipur
Vodafone Idea Business Services, the enterprise arm of Indian carrier Vodafone Idea, has inked a strategic partnership with compatriot firm Genus Power Infra to establish a commercial proof of concept of narrowband internet of things networks in India, local press reported.
The two companies are already testing automatic metering infrastructure (AMI) at Genus Power Infra’s research and development facility in Jaipur, Rajasthan.
“NB-IoT is the next growth engine in the IoT space which allows greater network coverage, improved battery life of ten years plus for devices, and the ability to slice and partition the network for specific use case, to make massive IoT deployments commercially viable for enterprises across verticals,” said Nick Gliddon, chief enterprise business officer at Vodafone Idea. “We are excited to partner with Genus Power Infra, a leader in energy meter manufacturing and look forward to bring alive more exciting deployments and projects which will help build a better digital enabled India and make truly smart cities a reality soon.”
The executive said that the company will also focus on digital transformation projects in the fields of agriculture, healthcare, utilities and smart city applications.
“Genus has conducted NB-IoT trials globally and has been a part of the digitization and power reforms phase in India. We are committed to supply smart and sustainable solutions to the power sector in the country,” said Jitendra Kumar Agarwal, managing director at Genus Power Infra.
Genus has been exporting smart energy meters — particularly to Asian and African markets — and is also planning to commercially produce NB-IoT-enabled smart meters both for India and international markets.
U.K. telecom group Vodafone previously launched NB-IoT networks in a number of countries including Czech Republic, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Australia, Netherlands and South Africa. At a global level, the carrier has over 74 million IoT connections.
Port of Rotterdam, IBM collaborate on digitisation project
In other IoT news, the port of Rotterdam authority and IBM recently announced their collaboration on a multi-year digititalization initiative to transform the port’s operational environment using IoT technologies in the cloud to improve the port’s operations.
The initiative will begin with the development of a centralized dashboard application that will collect and process real-time water and weather sensor data and communications data, analyzed through the IBM IoT platform. This is aimed at enabling a more efficient traffic management at the port.
With this new implementation, the port will now be able to predict the best time, based on water level, to have a ship arrive and depart Rotterdam, ensuring that the maximum amount of cargo is loaded on board.
“Thanks to real-time information about infrastructure, water and air, we can enormously improve the service we provide to everyone who uses the port, and prepare to embrace the connected, autonomous shipping of the future,” said Paul Smits, chief financial officer of the Port of Rotterdam Authority.
