Smart Gas Meter Market Expanding in Mashhad

EghtesadOnline: The second largest mobile operator MTN-Irancell, and the National Iranian Gas Company have launched a ‘smart gas meter’ project which makes use of NB-IoT technology.

News ID: ۷۴۴۵۵۸

11 December 2017

According to a press release by Irancell, 5,000 smart gas meters have been installed in the northeastern shrine city of Mashhad in Khorasan Razavi Province.

The technology used in the project, Narrow Band Internet of Things, is a low-power wide area network radio technology standard which focuses on low cost, long battery life and enables firms to simultaneously monitor a large number of connected devices.

Installing the smart gas meters is part of a deal signed between Irancell and NIGC in late 2016. As per the agreement, Irancell is responsible for maintaining the connectivity of the gas meters to the network and data transfer surveillance, Financial Tribune reported.

Application of IoT is gaining momentum in Iran. In June Mohammad Mehdi Javadian-Zadeh, head of Yazd Regional Water Company, announced that more than 40% of the province’s agricultural water wells had been equipped with smart water meters.

“Using the technology will help the water company better manage natural resources” in the desert province that has suffered from a chronic rain deficit forever and has long strived to be extra judicious with its dwindling water resources.

Last October, Iran’s Energy Efficiency Organization and Italy’s Centro Elettrotecnico Sperimentale Italiano (CESI) signed an agreement to install  smart electricity meters in Iran.

The project calls for mounting 32 million smart electricity meters in the country.

Utilities in many developed and developing countries are promoting advanced electricity meters for a variety of economic and environmental reasons, two of which are to cut costs and reduce consumption during peak hours.

Smart metering systems put an end to the manual meter reading, which is prone to technical error and loss. Smart meters have been used in Europe and the US since 2001. Omitting human error through the smart meters, gas, electric and water consumption can be recorded more accurately. Users are informed about their daily use and sent notifications in case of excessive consumption.

Security Concern

IoT is bringing opportunities for increased efficiency, improved accuracy of information and real-time transmission of data. But with the benefits come challenges and risks.

Application of IoT is not limited to gas and electricity meters. The technology allows users to monitor everything from home appliances to metro systems by connecting remote sensors to computers, mobile phones and smartwatches.

According to Global Digital Infrastructure Alliance report, endpoint security is the number one biggest IoT security concern. Simply put, if you are always connected, you are always vulnerable.

A deputy minister of telecoms is of the opinion that in addition to high-speed Internet, establishing a secure network is essential to the development of IoT projects.

Amir Hossein Davaie says, “Rules should be clear and well defined for the sector and an efficient infrastructure should be established.”