As part of the UK government's effort to reduce carbon emissions, its £1 billion smart metering programme has provoked mobile operators to open discussions with the major energy suppliers in the UK.
Trials using smart metering are already underway within 17,000 UK homes, and the energy giant EDF has confirmed that it has been talking to a number of operators over its plans for smart meters. An EDF spokesman said: ‘We have used mobile communications as part of these trials with reasonable success,' and expected that ‘one or two mobile communications technologies will be prominent' in the smart meter programme.
The mandatory programme will see smart meters fitted in every household and business across England and Wales from 2016, with the aim of cutting emissions. The meters will allow consumers to monitor the rate and cost of their energy output via their handsets.
While operators see smart metering as a potentially new revenue stream, their interest will be heightened by the chance of gaining a firmer footing in UK households. The possibility also exists for the smart meters to be integrated into femtocells.
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