Neuquén province installs Sigfox smart water meters

Argentina’s Neuquén province installed 300 smart water meters on the Sigfox network.

Using devices at the edge of the network and comparing collected with supply data, the distribution company gains more insight into consumption patterns and can detect losses in the water network.

Large amounts of drinking water are lost throughout the network every year.

“For many years our province has been experiencing continuous drought, so the process of lack of water has accelerated,” the province’s ICT director, Claudio Vai, told BNamericas during the Argentine IoT chamber’s annual conference.

Pilots for the smart meters started three years ago. "Right now, all public tenders related to water distribution have as a rule that this type of smart metering devices be used," he said.

The province wants to install 115,000 devices by 2023, 50,000 to 80,000 in Neuquén city alone.

In addition, Neuquén plans to use Sigfox devices to measure carbon monoxide and gas leaks in closed sites. “We are currently deploying devices in about 800 schools. There will be a total of 4,000 to 5,000 [devices],” Vai said.

Germán González Méndez, regional manager of 0G Networks Argentina – operator of the Sigfox network in Argentina and Chile and part of the Datco Group – told BNamericas that the solution implemented in Neuquén is easily replicated elsewhere.

The investment is justified, González Méndez said, since private water distribution companies are interested in detecting network leaks to reduce costs.

He added the company has invested US$3mn in Argentina to develop the Sigfox network.