The Mexican division of Latin American Sigfox operator WND has signed a deal with local metering outfit WaterMeter Corp to supply one million Sigfox water meters in the country over the next decade. Unabiz, the parent of the Sigfox technology and an IoT solution provider in its own right, is a co-signatory to the new “strategic alliance”, memorialised in a memorandum-of-understanding (MoU), which “aims” to deploy the meters also for gas and electricity monitoring.
WND’s Sigfox (‘0G’) network in Mexico covers around 60 percent of the population, currently; the company claims a “commitment to deploy in a few days” to extend it further, possibly nationwide. Unabiz has “guarantee(d) the continuity and longevity” of the network “for the next 15 years” as part of the MoU. The WND build-out has gone beyond an initial phase to bring the network in range of “horizontal and vertical condominiums nationwide”.
The second phase, it said, is to extend the Sigfox infrastructure in the country to “everyone, everywhere”. The trio said they “are willing to revolutionise the administration and management of water, gas, and electricity”. WaterMeter Corp said it selected Sigfox because of its ability to “communicate equipment in a dispersed or sectorised way without the need to install concentrator antennas, repeaters or gateways on public poles”.
Unabiz claims to have connected “more than” 2.6 million gas and water meters worldwide on Sigfox; it has a sizeable deal with Japanese utility firm Nippon Gas (NICIGAS), which covered at least 850,000 gas meters at last count (2019).
Marco Mendoza, chief executive at WaterMeter Corp, said: “Our customers expect water metering solutions that meet their basic needs: accounting for 100 percent of water, gas or electricity effectively… with cost-effective and operationally practical solutions… that fit their budgets. This is why we are committed to Sigfox… which allows us to read meters remotely, cost-effectively, predictably, and extremely energy-efficiently.”
Daniel Philippe Guevara, chief executive at WND Mexico, said: “WND Mexico is dedicated to providing solid coverage for [Sigfox-based] IoT solutions… including water metering. We share a long-term vision with WaterMeter Corp, recognising the importance of safety, stability, and continuity in the utility market. We hope to transform the smart water metering landscape with one million connected water meters over the next 10 years.”
Henri Bong, co-founder and chief executive at UnaBiz, said: “We are confident that… we will deliver water metering solutions that will help Mexican municipalities address the challenges of water scarcity, non-technical losses, and water leaks. With a long-term business vision, our goal is to modernise the water management system in Mexico, promote water conservation and ensure the country’s sustainable and efficient use of water resources.”
