IoT-based smart water meters rolled out in Musandam

Energy Tuesday 29/January/2019 22:35 PM
By: Times News Service
IoT-based smart water meters rolled out in Musandam

Muscat: As the Sultanate’s digital partner of choice, Ooredoo is transforming the utilities industry by Supporting IoT solutions for Automated Meter Readings (AMR) in Musandam.
Rolled out in collaboration with the National Electricity & Energy Center for the Public Authority for Water (Diam), this is a first-of-its-kind Smart Metering in Oman.
This new digital solution will eliminate the challenges faced by utilities providers when collecting meter readings, especially in isolated residential locations.
The initiative is in line with the government’s vision to turn the strategic Governorate into a smart city.
Sultan bin Ahmed Al Wahaibi, Chief Business and Wholesale Officer at Ooredoo, said, “We are committed to playing a key role in the establishment of smart cities in Oman. We have been reinforcing our network and investing heavily in the latest solutions to help position the country as an active player in digital innovation.
“By piloting this forward-thinking system through our IoT network we will be able to create a highly intelligent, autonomous and efficient utility systems, which will ultimately generate economic returns for the Sultanate. Following this successful pilot, Ooredoo is working with the relevant organisations to see Smart Metering rolled out across Oman.”
The smart water meter automatically collects consumption data and transfers it to a central database for billing, troubleshooting and evaluation.
It will enable Diam to obtain accurate meter readings from customers automatically and will also be able to save water by spotting leaks. Customers will receive bills based on actual consumption, rather than on estimates or past use. All existing meters in the Governorate will be upgraded with smart retrofit devices to avoid the need to exchange the meter.
Working towards an efficient future, the Sultanate has fully embraced the power of IoT, aligning its resources, systems and infrastructure to establish smart cities. These include integrating the latest smart technologies into every-day life starting from smart parking systems to building an E-health portal.
A partner in Oman’s digital transformation, Ooredoo became the first telecommunications operator in Oman and the GCC to join the non-profit association LoRa Alliance.
This membership enables Ooredoo to collaborate with other IoT service providers, chip manufacturers, solution developers and other businesses serving the industry’s requirement to push the technology forwards.