Under the deal, WaterGroup’s IoT-based smart meters will be connected with the Sigfox LPWAN technology
Australian smart meters company WaterGroup has inked a five-year partnership with IoT network operator Thinxtra to use IoT to enable large water users to detect water leaks.
Under the agreement, WaterGroup’s IoT-based smart water meters will be connected with the Sigfox low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) technology being deployed by Thinxtra across Asia–Pacific, including in Australia.
“In the past, the cost of connectivity was a constraint but now, with this simple-to-use, large-scale and low-cost network, not only councils but also any large water users can start monitoring their water within weeks at low cost,” said Guenter Hauber-Davidson, managing director of WaterGroup.
“Councils and businesses will benefit greatly from this, because our smart meter systems deliver not only automated meter readings but also valuable additional information on water use that helps our clients save water and money. In particular, undetected leaks wasting millions of liters of water, will become a thing of the past,” the executive said.
Hauber-Davidson said the company spent 24 months researching and developing multiple LPWAN technologies that will work best with smart metering devices before choosing Sigfox.
“By joining forces with WaterGroup we will be combining their smarts in water meters with the benefits of Sigfox, the leading wireless technology for low cost and low power IoT applications to meet demand from councils,” Thinxtra CEO, Loic Barancourt said.
The Sigfox network is expected to cover 95% of Australian population by the end of the year. The network currently covers 71%.
Sydney-based Thinxtra is boosting Internet of Things (IoT) in Asia Pacific by deploying Sigfox technology. The company currently operates in Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong.
