Global smart metering solutions provider Iskraemeco enables energy companies to effortlessly deliver customer insights and functionality. Thanks to their secure and trusted built-for Internet of Things (IoT) global smart meter solutions. The key to its success has been anticipating how utility companies want to unlock the potential of data insights and intelligence.
To stay ahead of the market and specification changes, Iskraemeco envisioned a truly interoperable smart grid-ready future, with its next-generation, eSIM-enabled smart meters, which feature innovations from Kigen alongside partners; Sierra Wireless, Telemach Slovenia, and Workz.
A global shift to a more resilient, reliable smart grid is dependent on ensuring utility companies avoid lock-ins, reduce fragmentation, and build stronger customer relationships with end-users. Therefore Iskraemeco launched a truly interoperable smart grid ready smart meter. Before engaging with Kigen’s embedded SIM (eSIM) ecosystem, Iskraemeco saw that fast-changing legislation would become a hurdle for energy companies looking to scale. Additionally, it foresaw new possibilities in how data can generate revenue streams for utility providers, positioning them as broader service providers.
Its innovation team architected modular subsystems into the company’s fourth-generation smart meter. These latest IDIS Companion Specification-compliant meters introduced more diagnostics, enhanced security, updated meter reading functionality, and extended functionality for end-user engagement. In addition, this next-generation smart meter relied on the industry’s leading hardware, boasting a universal communication interface that facilitates the effortless exchange of various communication modules, explicitly addressing the growing demand for M2M network connectivity.
That’s why Iskraemeco transitioned to an eSIM with Kigen OS software, manufactured and supplied by Workz. Each eSIM comes personalized with a global bootstrap, enabling both factory over-the-air meter testing and out-of-the-box global connectivity from Kigen’s ecosystem of partners. If a local network is preferred, the Kigen remote SIM provisioning (RSP) service can provide a local operator profile with no need for physical access to the device. Moreover, interoperability across Mobile Network Operator (MNO) profiles, as well as modular subsystems, remove hurdles for utilities when integrating mobile technology for large-scale, cost-sensitive smart meter deployments.
Unlock new opportunities
As the number and variety of smart grid connected assets expand, so does the data volume. Fog and edge processing can help manage and extract more value from the data in the age of growing grid management complexity. Gregor Rodič, Innovation Manager for connectivity at Iskraemeco, leads the company’s efforts to stay ahead of all these changes. “Meters will have more edge computing capability in the future,” says Rodič. “Smart meters will process the data where the data is collected – at the edge, pick the insights needing cloud processing and empower local corrective action, enabling
more grid flexibility.”
By using smart metering and other technologies, utility providers can start providing value-added services, including dynamic pricing, real-time billing, and real-time access to connected devices for remote monitoring, analysis, and usage control. New services open new revenue streams for utility providers, positioning them as broader service providers. In addition, smart meters can become hubs for interoperating with all sorts of IoT devices and sensors at customer locations.
Flexible remote eSIM provisioning from Kigen
As Iskraemeco began trials of its next-generation eSIM enabled meters with multiple utility companies, it turned to Kigen’s Remote SIM Provisioning solution, which offers coverage by a range of MNOs. So the Kigen support team helped prepare operational profiles for Telemach Slovenia and proof-of-concept deployments into the Telemach territory using RSP, which were a success.
Iskraemeco found that having a choice of MNOs in regional deployments prevents lock-in for their utility customers and alleviates concerns over varying signal quality between MNOs in some areas.
Integrating its meter management software with the Kigen RSP server’s API also offers the opportunity to create a unified workflow for companies, which is a big step towards easier adoption. In addition, moving that software onto a cloud infrastructure improves scalability. With this, Iskraemeco can help utility companies offer greater value by serving the increasing demand for real-time analytics needed for advanced asset optimization and delivering smart grid resilience.
In conclusion, Kigen brings ecosystem solutions to ease ready-to-connect hardware expertise across a growing ecosystem combined with secure SIM, eSIM and integrated eUICC (iSIM) OS and a flexible approach to RSP to help global leaders get ahead and stay ahead with secure devices and secure services. For more information, please visit kigen.com
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