Simplifying technological solutions for cities through a partnership between Suez Environnement and SFR Business Team

SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT and SFR BUSINESS TEAM sign a strategic partnership at the global level to develop technological solutions for the city of tomorrow, including the simplification of remote meter reading.

Ondeo Systems has joined forces with SFR Business Team, the French leader in "Machine to Machine" (M2M) telecommunications services, to develop a "universal" remote metering solution adapted to the changing needs of cities and their inhabitants. This partnership aims to support the exponential growth of the remote meter reading market, which is estimated to be worth 20 billion dollars in the water sector between now and 2020. (2).

In a context of increasing urbanization (3) and scarcity of resources, information technology opens the way to a controlled, smarter and more economical management of resources.
This partnership aims to respond to these new challenges through two areas of research and technological innovation:

- The development of a "universal" remote reading solution allowing the transport and management of all types of data of the city and its inhabitants, for example by using a digital box ;
- The implementation of a single M2M telecommunications network, known as a "monolayer", ensuring the direct and automatic transmission of data to a central system, for example from a smart meter to a billing system.

The development of universal gateways and the pooling of infrastructures, by eliminating "dual networks", will minimise the cost and environmental impact of remote meter reading for local authorities.

To deploy these solutions on an international scale, the two partners will rely on the Vodafone Group, the world's leading mobile operator, and a member of SFR Business Team's international network of operators, Network Team.

In the field of remote meter reading, Ondeo Systems stands out today with its solution based on a long-range 169 MHz radio frequency4, interoperable (water/gas) (5) and easy to deploy, thanks to the absence of intermediate equipment or repeaters. The company has already sold 1.5 million remote meters in Europe.

(1) Automatic and remote meter reading
(2) Source: Global Water Intelligence
(3) By 2050, our planet will have 6.4 billion urban dwellers, or 70% of the world's population.
(4) European frequency dedicated to royalty-free remote meter reading applications (directive 2005/928/EC)
(5) In June 2012, Ondeo Systems was awarded the contract to specify and integrate GrDF's remote meter reading system.

Pierre Andrade, Executive Vice President of Lyonnaise des Eaux, said: "We are delighted with this collaboration, which is part of our innovation strategy to support cities and their inhabitants in preserving their resources. In the longer term, this partnership will evolve towards the co-development of new services for the controlled management of all environmental flows and data (pollution, geolocation, etc.) linked to the emergence of smart cities. »

Pierre Barnabé, CEO of SFR Business Team, is pleased: "We are proud to support Lyonnaise des Eaux (SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT Group) in its innovation strategy. The combination of our respective skills and experience will enable us to deploy a consistent, high-quality connectivity service at the international level. »

{Jacuzzi on}