NB-IoT communication technology provides a new solution for the last-mile data transmission of the smart water meter reading systems
ZTE has announced the release of two Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT)-based smart water meters at CeBIT, in Hannover, Germany. These new meters fulfil smart water meter reading systems’ requirements for wireless long distance transmission of small data.
The released NB-IoT based LXY-15 and LXY-20 smart water meters meet most residents’ needs. Based on ZTE’s mature smart water meter product series, as well as the eccentric rotating vane water meter, these smart water meters have a range of high level features including dry type, multiple-jet eccentric structure, high sensitivity, wide metering range, reliable metering results, anti-magnetic interference performance and superior anti-contamination performance.
The NB-IoT smart water meter uses multiple new technologies, such as non-magnetic induction, NB-IoT wireless remote transmission and low power consumption. It can also record water metering signals, store data and support remote communication.
NB-IoT communication technology provides a new solution for the last-mile data transmission of the smart water meter reading systems. In NB-IoT wireless networks, water metering data and water meter status information are sent to the backend server through the uplink, the server configures the water meter parameters and delivers management commands through the downlink.
NB-IoT features a 50 to 100 times greater uplink capacity upgrade than 2G, 3G, 4G, and is 50 to 100 times faster than existing wireless technologies. NB-IoT enhances the gain up to 20dB compared to general packet radio service (GPRS). This gain can be noticed and covered anywhere, including places where signals are difficult to reach, such as underground environments such as underground pipes and basements.
In addition, NB-IoT introduces long discontinuous reception (DRX) power-saving technology and power saving mode (PSM), guaranteeing the battery for more than 10 years’ service life. Low rate, low power and low band also add to the low cost advantage.
As such the NB-IoT-based solution has several advantages over previous data communication solutions, including long distance wireless communication, environment adaptability, and low power consumption. With these advantages, the NB-IoT communication technology has become the most suited IoT communication technology for smart water meter reading systems.
