A well-designed meter reading solution should support migration from Drive-By to Fix Base network operations, applicable for both NB (Narrow Band) and DS meters.

Water utilities in the Central United States and the Northern ‘Rustbelt’ regions require meters with a 20 year operating life, installed in basements and connected to a radio transmitter located on the outside of the building at ground level. In this case, Low Cost radio offers an addition solution.

Three Water Meter options are available:

• Narrow band (NB) meter – most widely used with over 700,000 units already installed.
• NB meters enable Drive-By reading for pit applications only. Remote communication may be used via wideband communication technology.
• NB meters are equipped with a built in data log that can be programmed at various time intervals and read via remote command. The remote command unit is able to define the frames of data to be transmitted.

• Speared Spectrum Direct Sequence (DS) meter – manufactured only within the last 6 months and planned for full service within 3-4 years.
• DS meters enable Drive-By readings from all types of installations. Remote communication may be used via wideband communication technology, with slight differences from those used in NB meter technology.
• DS meters are equipped with a built in data log that can be programmed at various time intervals and read via remote command. The remote command unit is able to define the frames of data to be transmitted.
• The Low Cost meter – enables installation in any region but has limited transmission abilities. The Low Cost meter enables bidirectional communication and includes a limited data log. It has an expected meter life of over 15 years.