Airtel Business, IntelliSmart to connect 20 mn smart meters with IoT

Telecom operator Bharti Airtel has entered into a strategic partnership with IntelliSmart Infrastructure to connect up to 2 crore smart meters with internet of things technology, the company said on Thursday.

The project is estimated to be executed over a period of next 10 years.

"This marks Airtel's foray into smart metering applications such as head end system, along with Cloud and Analytics. This is the one of the largest deals in the smart metering space in the country and will significantly contribute towards Airtel's fast-growing IoT deployment across sectors," Airtel said in a statement.

The company said its proprietary platform the "Airtel IoT Hub" will help the utility track and monitor these smart meters with advanced analytics while maintaining extremely high reliability augmented with telco grade security.

"IoT is one of the fastest-growing business segments for Airtel Business and, with this deal, we are now strategically positioned to play a pivotal role in driving the government's vision of digitising 250 million conventional meters to smart meters," Airtel Business (India) CEO Ganesh Lakshminarayanan said.

Intellismart Infrastructure MD and CEO Anil Rawal said India's smart metering programme is a significant step taken by the government to modernise the power distribution sector.

"We are confident that the on-boarding of Airtel as a strategic partner will be a significant step towards our goal of creating strong associations to strengthen our infrastructure solution with a resilient and secure cloud-hosted cellular communication network," Rawal said.