First European smart meter manufacturer integrates Wirepas 5G Mesh, DECT NR+ and DLMS interoperability

Wirepas, a mesh connectivity provider, and Meter&Control, smart meter manufacturer, showcased Wirepas 5G Mesh technology, DECT NR+ and DLMS interoperability at Enlit

FLEXY modular smart meter is the first European made smart meter to integrate 5G Mesh technology developed by Wirepas, claimed to be the world’s only technology based on DECT NR+, the non-cellular 5G connectivity standard. The working demonstration was showcased at Enlit Europe and also includes the integration with Netinium universal HES, which allows quick DECT NR+ integration as a future connectivity option in existing utility backend topologies.

DLMS interoperability combined with Wirepas 5G Mesh allows utilities to benefit both from DLMS’s security and bidirectional support to push and receive messages as well as from the security of network transmissions enabled by Wirepas 5G Mesh based on the publicly available spectrum around 1.9 GHz in Europe. The currently implemented IPv6-based profile provides ultra-high reliability between smart meters.

“Our FLEXY series modular smart meter with replaceable modem was designed for utilities to quickly and easily switch communication technologies within the meter lifetime, thus allowing them to keep the pace with fast evolutions in smart metering. Now, the Wirepas 5G Mesh modem steps up the connectivity game to the next level for us: it is a new proposition for existing customers and it also opens the doors of markets where this technology is ushering or is already well-established. The entire implementation of Wirepas 5G Mesh modem with FLEXY meter was done by Lobaro and, being effectively a third-party hardware, was unexpectedly straightforward and quick.“ said Vladan Lapcevic, CEO at Meter&Control.

Jani Vehkalati, SVP Smart Metering at Wirepas added: “A new generation RF mesh standard with a dedicated and free-of-charge spectrum was the missing brick in speeding up the next-generation smart metering deployments: with our 5G Mesh, the highest reliability comes at the lowest total cost. We are thrilled to see Meter&Control as the first moverfor Wirepas 5G Mesh and DECT NR+ in Europe.”

Together with partners, Meter&Control demonstrated DLMS over Wirepas 5G Mesh at the ESMIG community booth at ENLIT Europe on 28-30 November in Paris. 

Partners involved in the demo were Wirepas as the connectivity solution provider, Netinium as the head-end supplier for the pre-integration of DLMS and DECT NR+ as well as Lobaro as the design house of the integration and Nordic Semiconductor as the provider of the radio chipset.

More on Wirepas 5G Mesh 

Wirepas 5G Mesh is the first connectivity fully compliant with the DECT NR+ non-cellular 5G standard. The standard originated from a need for a unified European-wide way to connect smart electricity meters reliably and wirelessly. DECT NR+ is a non-cellular radio standard included in the ITU 5G standards using the free-to-use, license-exempt spectrum around 1,9 GHz. 

Wirepas 5G Mesh employs a self-healing and autonomous mesh network with minor infrastructure needs. This makes it easy to commission devices and significantly reduces planning and maintenance efforts. It’s totally decentralized network management provides a fully transparent private network to the utility – not requiring a dedicated operator in the middle.