[HN Gopher] Why 7M UK smart meters will stop working and what it...
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       Why 7M UK smart meters will stop working and what it will mean
        
       Author : edward
       Score  : 11 points
       Date   : 2024-03-26 07:38 UTC (15 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.newscientist.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.newscientist.com)
        
       | junto wrote:
       | I assume that DSL connections aren't used because not every has
       | one. How far does Ethernet over power line reach? 300m? Could it
       | theoretically reach outside the house to a junction box and if
       | so, could this be a better way of pushing smart meter data to the
       | local provider? I don't know enough about the technology so maybe
       | I'm being naive.
        
         | daveoc64 wrote:
         | I think having it linked to home broadband would be unpopular
         | from both an energy supplier point of view and from the public.
         | 
         | The energy suppliers wouldn't want the support burden of having
         | to troubleshoot people's Wi-Fi, which might not reach to the
         | location where the meter is installed, and could suffer from
         | all sorts of problems.
         | 
         | Some consumers wouldn't like the idea of it using their
         | internet connection - even if it was a negligible amount of
         | data consumption.
         | 
         | I believe there are some energy supplier provided wireless
         | networks that cover a small part of a neighborhood and all of
         | the meters in that area can connect to the network.
         | 
         | I think there are also mesh models where meters communicate
         | over a local network wirelessly, back to a meter that is in the
         | cellular coverage area.
        
       | RecycledEle wrote:
       | If the business/utility/people who bought the smart meters did
       | not specify a port where they can be read by wire (and therefore
       | a new wireless module can be installed) then they get what they
       | deserve.
       | 
       | Also, this is less than $1 Billion. Is it worth a HN story?
        
         | daveoc64 wrote:
         | That's actually how the meters currently work.
         | 
         | The article explains it a little better, but there's the meter
         | equipment and there's communication equipment.
         | 
         | The communication modules currently installed might only
         | support 2G (GSM) and 3G (UMTS) networks, but those could be
         | replaced with new modules that support 4G (LTE) and/or 5G (NR)
         | networks.
         | 
         | The meter itself doesn't need to change.
         | 
         | That is the plan for handling the closure of 2G and 3G
         | networks.
        
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       (page generated 2024-03-26 23:02 UTC)