Power Grid Pitches For Obsolete Tech In Smart Electricity Meters Can Hamper 5G Dream – EQ Mag Pro
New Delhi : As India prepares to begin launching 5G services in October, the state-owned Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) continues to go ahead with outdated technology to install one million Smart electricity Meters, which could cause electricity sector reforms to be in danger.
The technology that is currently in attention is the newest technology and platform known as Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT) that is compatible with 5G and 4G networks.
Tata Power Delhi Distribution, which provides electric power in north and north-west Delhi is already using the NB-IoT in Smart meters.They record and track the consumption of electricity of an individual or a system they connect to.
The PGCIL first announced an open tender for Smart Meters the Smart Meters that are based on older and out of date 2G (2G) and the RF mesh frequency in March.
Then in the process, the PGCIL changed the tender to include NBIoT technology.
There was a second change in the bid on the 18th of August in which the 5G-ready and new technology for NB-IoT was again rejected by the central transmission utility.
The NB-IoT cellular communication technology that is recognized globally.
It is a reliable technology for cellular networks in 4G and 5G and is suitable to be used in basements, high-rises, and in rural areas of machine-to machine applications.
According to sources in the industry the motive behind excluding the NB-IoT in Smart Meters is “unclear considering that NB-IOT is the most advanced technology in the state of the technology and is future-proof”.
One reason for why the Power Grid did not go for NB-IoT could be that it isn’t yet widely tested on a large scale.
The government recently concluded a very profitable auction of 5G spectrum, and the country is at the brink of experiencing the introduction of M2M and other 5G-related applications.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has consistently been insisting on the significance and necessity of the launch of 5G services.
According to sources in the industry, when the capability to provide the latest technology is present in the nation, it’s an extremely “retrograde decision” for an PSU to reverse its course and to exclude the latest technology from market.
They stated that it is crucial that the most modern technology is utilized in the energy sector in order to guarantee the long-term viability of the systems that are implemented.
The absence of the latest technology is a travesty to the whole concept of modernisation, they concluded.
The Ministry of Power recently launched the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) program with the goal to provide Smart Meters for 250 million consumers by 2025.
Source: PTI
