New connectivity service will break vendor lock-in in the energy sector
One of Europe’s leading ICT companies, Maingate, has launched Connect Flex, a new data communications and connectivity solution designed to drive efficiency and performance in the smart energy sector. This open standard SIM card-based solution will help energy companies to optimise operational efficiencies, reduce their carbon footprint, reduce costs and deliver a more reliable energy supply.
Across the energy ecosystem there are hundreds of thousands of distributed assets, from smart meters to substations, transformers to cut-out switches, that each require monitoring and sometimes control. Remotely monitored assets may be connected via a fitted SIM card, provided by the mobile network operator, that handles the communications coming from and to the devices.
If a utility or other asset owner wants to change provider in order to secure financial savings or better quality of service they are forced to also replace the SIM cards. In practice this means an engineer visiting every one of potentially thousands of assets to physically replace the cards. As it stands, players are effectively tied in to one provider for the lifetime of their physical assets.
Maingate’s Connect Flex service is a market-led development that tackles this issue of vendor lock-in. By supplying their own provider-agnostic SIM cards, Maingate’s service allows owners and operators to remotely change providers, without replacing the physical cards. As part of the Connect Flex service Maingate will handle any change of provider, to ensure that no connection or data is lost during the transition.
In addition, the Connect Flex service allows SIM cards to be fitted into energy hardware at the point of manufacture, which significantly reduces engineering costs. Asset owners and operators are then free to choose the right provider for their needs at the point of installation, depending on coverage requirements and the best provider in each location.
“Connect Flex is another example of Maingate’s push to develop market-led solutions focused on decentralising the energy system and opening it up to change,” explains Maingate’s UK Managing Director, David Owen. “The openness and transparency on which Connect Flex is built is the key to applying the Internet of Things to the smart energy ecosystem.”
Maingate takes 15 years of information and communication technology experience and applies it directly to meeting the challenges of the emerging smart energy sector. We provide end-to-end solutions that combine the aggregation and analysis of energy data with reporting, visualisation and engagement tools. We create flexible systems that are powered by our open standard platform, mvio™, giving us the freedom to work with any technology, data stream or third-party software. Working in close collaboration, we support our partners from consultation and hardware selection through to project design and delivery. We currently provide M2M connectivity and information management services to more than 1000 customers across Europe.
Visit www.maingateenergy.com for more information about our work in the smart energy sector and contact:
