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Vodacom Business deploys 200 smart water meters in North West

Staff Writer
By Staff Writer, ITWeb
Johannesburg, 30 Jul 2020

Vodacom Business and digital technology company Mezzanine have installed 200 smart water meters in Matlosana municipality in North West province, which they say will help save costs and water.

The smart asset management solution, with narrowband-Internet of things (NB-IOT) AMR water sensors, is aimed at assisting customers to manage water consumption more accurately.

According to the companies, on average, 37% of SA’s water is lost before it gets to users as a result of leaks, and they are confident smart meters will help to monitor water use and water supply to minimise wastage.

The telco says in a water-scarce country where water conservation is critical, “it is important for water utilities to tackle non-revenue water, which is water that is lost before it ever reaches the customer”.

Vodacom and other partners on the project − Mezzanine, EMS Solutions and Honeywell Smart Energy − say this modem-driven, end-to-end software solution helps customers to implement advanced analytics, revenue assurance and protection, and smart pre-payment to improve utilities’ operational performance.

Additionally, the telco says with approximately 1 000 activated base stations in Gauteng, the Vodacom Business NB-IOT data model allows for developing digital dashboards that provide reporting and data-driven event notification of the collected data.

This data provides active monitoring of key parameters of critical and high-cost assets in near-real-time.

This development comes on the back of increased uptake by municipalities and other utility service providers of innovative end-to-end connected solutions that enable utility operations like water and electricity to run more efficiently.

Peter Malebye, managing executive for Vodacom Business IOT Africa, says the pilot project in the City of Matlosana is specifically looking at the water use case for accurate metering of bulk meters and supply points, which are typically located in non-powered underground chambers.

“This helps utility managers to get an accurate view of the water supply network through the digital asset management solution, by balancing the system and detecting losses in real-time.

“Vodacom Business, together with its partners, is committed to providing benefits to its utility customers by rolling out NB-IOT solutions across the African continent, helping to save water and costs for both municipalities and consumers.”


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