Your water utility has unique challenges that change by the day, making it hard to plan for metering technology, let alone implement it. Network-as-a-service (NaaS) solutions, such as Neptune’s new Cellular Meter Interface Unit (CMIU), take risks out of moving into the future by relying on cellular network infrastructure that already exists. This enables your utility to focus on the AMI benefits of the CMIU right out of the box.
Network coverage with no operational burden
A cellular-based NaaS solution means no preventive maintenance. Communicate reads wirelessly across your entire service area, leaving collector and tower responsibilities to a third party. There’s no more worrying about network uptime or infrastructure investments, either. Your utility can also ensure greater reliability because third-party networks have built-in redundancies: If one tower goes down, another picks up the signal.
Using the CMIU, your utility can scale and shift as priorities and budget change, without committing entirely to one technology.
Blend network technologies to meet needs
Maybe portions of your service area are outside easy reach of radio frequency data collection. Strategically placed, CMIUs can leverage an existing 4G LTE cellular network and augment existing RF technology to capture reads in isolated areas.
You could transition industrial commercial meters to a cellular network for hourly reads while maintaining mobile monthly residential meter reads. In time, you could move toward a totally cellular data collection system to fit your needs. With NaaS, you can implement what makes the most sense at any given time, increasing efficiency while saving man-hours and money.
To learn more, visit neptunetg.com.
