Bharti Airtel’s B2B arm, Airtel Business, has won the cellular IoT (Internet-of-Things) mandate with the TP Odisha Distribution Limited (TPWODL), a joint venture between Tata Power and the government of Odisha. Under the mandate, Airtel said that it would be powering over 200,000 Smart Meters with IoT solutions. Out of the 200,000 Smart Meters, 70,000 will be delivered in the first phase. Airtel will leverage its proprietary IoT platform called ‘Airtel IoT Hub’, which would help the utility track and monitor the smart meters with advanced analytics. Further, the solution would also come with telco-grade security. In the cellular IoT space in India, smart metering is one of the use cases which is witnessing heavy demand and adoption. There are several power distribution companies in the country which are looking forward to investing in this space to save themselves from leaking revenues. Airtel said that smart metering is also one of the fastest-growing service lines within its IoT business portfolio. The telco is already working with multiple state utilities in Jharkhand, Punjab, Meghalaya, Bihar and West Bengal. The government of India also has an ambitious goal to replace over 300 million conventional meters with smart meters in the coming five years as part of the Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) initiative. Mr Siddharth Talawadekar, Business Head – IoT at Airtel said, “Airtel is delighted to partner with TP Western Odisha Distribution Limited in their attempt to bring best in class technology to consumers across the state. As India’s electricity sector embraces changes ushered in by new reforms, we look forward to set an example demonstrating how technology can enable efficient service delivery solutions for companies that are customer friendly. With capabilities of remote network feasibility, advanced diagnostics and a future-ready IoT platform with readily available APIs for seamless integration, we are confident to serve our customers well in this space.”
