Image: Claudio Vieira/PMSJC
Brazil water utility Sabesp has announced what is slated as the world’s largest IoT-based smart water metering initiative.
The contract between Sabesp and Telefonica’s Brazil subsidiary Vivo is aimed at modernising water metering in the utility’s São Paulo and São José dos Campos municipal service areas.
The initiative, valued at around R$3.8 billion ($700 million), foresees investments in equipment, infrastructure and automation and connectivity solutions, as well as smart water meters in all properties in these cities by 2029.
“This will be the largest internet of things project in the world and the largest smart water metering project on the planet,” asserts Dênis Maia, executive director of Customers and Technology at Sabesp.
“The new system will allow all properties in the participating cities to have real-time consumption reading and direct monitoring by cell phone, eliminating the need for face-to-face visits.”
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Sabesp is considered to be the fourth largest water utility in the world, with 10.3 million registered water connections.
The new project is set to involve around 4.4 million pieces of equipment in the two municipalities, with the two having the possibility of becoming the first in the world with 100% IoT-based smart water metering.
The new meters will contain an eSim and with the IoT, will allow transmission of data on an hourly basis from hard-to-reach places such as basements and remote areas.
For customers, the system will provide functionalities accessible via Sabesp’s app, website and digital channels, including consumption histories, automatic alerts of above-average consumption for example for leak notification, issuance of duplicate bills and requests for services and registration updates.
Débora Bortolasi, B2B vice president at Vivo, adds that the project represents a concrete advance in the efficiency of water management and the digitalisation of urban infrastructure.
“We deliver a complete solution, which combines IoT, AI and systems integration, reinforcing our performance as a reference in digital solutions for the corporate market and as an enabler of the technological transformation of essential services.”
