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DATA IS BEING PAID FOR Utility management, whether consciously or not, is at the forefront of the battle against climate change. Storms, wildfires, and flooding are becoming more commonplace, and typical weather patterns – e.g. expecting it to be hot and dry in summer, and cool and wet in the winter – can no longer be relied upon in protecting and preparing utilities. This is why a wealth of data about how a utility is performing can help with preparation for these potential scenarios. A 2019 whitepaper published by McKinsey & Company [3] analysed financial records of 10 power utilities in seven states in the US that experience common hurricanes and found a typical utility cost $1.4 billion in storm damage costs. We are at a point now where suppliers are willing to pay for quality data on how their utilities are performing, said Olivier Pauzet, EVP Marketing & Strategy at Sequans, the collection of which must be able to rely on good connectivity. He warned against operating on unlicensed bands, explaining that licensed bands are operated by MNOs and guarantee a quality of service: “Operating in a licensed band is more expensive than anything which is unlicensed, but you receive a better quality of service,” he said. Sequans collaborated with Itron on a water metering project where Sequans’ Monarch 2 LTE-M/NB-IoT technology was picked to connect Itron’s smart water meters in Queensland, Australia. “An industry trend we’re seeing that happened with electricity, gas, and now water, because it’s becoming a crucial resource, is that companies are willing to pay to get data so they can better track their customers,” said Pauzet.
The technology chosen for the project, Sequans’
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