The Antenna Company is bringing connectivity to smart meters

Texas Metering & Device Company (TMD), a provider of Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) and services for electric, water, and gas utilities, and The Antenna Company, a company making high-performance antenna design and provider of industry-proven RF coupler and external antenna isolator solutions, have announced a robust solution to enhance wireless connectivity for off-network smart meters used by electric utilities.

This collaboration leverages TMD’s expertise in AMI and industry knowledge with The Antenna Company’s innovative high-efficiency LTE antennas (AC94541-01) and RF Coupler solution (AC20424-01) to address the connectivity challenges of off-network utility smart meters. TMD will act as a US distributor for The Antenna Company’s products included in the smart meter retrofit kit.

“As utilities increasingly enforce 100% meter read rates, the demand for reliable utility smart meter wireless connectivity continues to rise. TMD and The Antenna Company have combined their strengths to deliver a proven wireless range extension retrofit solution for the smart meter market,” said Steve Swenke, President of TMD.

Key benefits of the solution include:

1. Immediate availability: The smart meter retrofit kit is available now. Its installation will improve meter read rates for cellular 4G LTE/P-LTE, including Anterix 900MHz spectrum, and short-range/mesh networking connectivity, reducing the need for expensive, time-consuming manual meter reads
2. Fast return on investment: This innovative range-extension solution eliminates the high cost of truck rolls for manual meter reading
3. Comprehensive support: Customers can expect thorough technical support and expertise from TMD, ensuring successful implementation of the smart meter wireless range-extension solution

“We are delighted to partner with TMD as our integration expert and distributor for the US utility smart meter market. Today’s joint announcement by TMD and The Antenna Company marks a strategic alignment and immediate availability of this retrofit solution that will drive a much-needed improvement in smart meter remote-read rates,” added Norm Smith, Vice President of Sales for The Antenna Company.

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