ABI Research: Europe set to overtake U.S. in smart meter installed base

Europe will eclipse the U.S. as the world's second largest smart meter market after China in 2020, ABI Research predicted. The company forecast global smart meter deployments will grow from 210 million units in 2014 to 780 million in 2020, and noted that planned national deployments in Europe will take the region past the U.S., where mass rollouts by utility companies peaked in 2012. While today's market is dominated by power line communication technologies--driven by early adoptions in Spain, Italy and China--the company noted that cellular connections are on the up, fuelled by growing acceptance of wireless as a feasible first choice technology, and decreasing subscription costs. Report