65 / 84
temperatures, humidity and vibration.
u-blox has also been a thought leader
with the introduction of NB-IoT, a
technology that improves coverage
and signal penetration, while
extending the battery life of deployed
smart meters. It simplifies the design,
operation and maintenance of smart
metering networks and grids, thereby
helping reduce the total cost of smart
metering roll-outs.
Diego Grassi joined the Product
Strategy team in the Product Center
Cellular at u-blox AG in July 2014. He
is responsible for the development
of Industrial, Retail & Enterprise
markets.
Prior to joining u-blox, he held
positions in product marketing,
business development and strategic
marketing
in
Semiconductors
companies such as Micron, Numonyx
and STMicroelectronics. There, he
managed multiple demand generation
and ecosystem enabling programs
at worldwide level in the segments
of telecom, consumer and industrial
electronics.
Diego Grassi has a technical
background in industrial electronics
and holds a university degree with a
focus on economics of the information.
deployments, the utility ecosystem
is already transitioning to 4G LTE
connectivity.
This shift is being driven by two
factors. The first is the product and
infrastructure longevity offered by
LTE technology, and the second is the
introduction of specific versions of the
LTE specification, such as Category
1, Category M1 and Narrowband IoT
(NB-IoT). These introduce bandwidth,
latency and power consumption
performance that are optimized for
the use cases of AMI.
Looking ahead
The availability of proven cellular
communications modules can speed
time-to-market and enables the
creation of innovative solutions
in metering markets. Future
developments, such as LTE Cat 1, Cat
M1 and NB-IoT promise even more
exciting advances and pave the way
for the transition from basic smart
metering to an era of efficient wireless
connectivity between multiple new
categories of smart IoT sensors. This
will enable those in the utilities industry
to rapidly experiment with new
business models by making relatively
minor investments, compared to the
costs and timescales that would be
involved traditionally.
u-blox has a full line-up of cellular
communication modules that can
enable smart metering systems
globally. This includes the 2G SARA-G
and 3G SARA-U product families
used in gas, water and standalone
electricity metering installations,
alongside the LARA-R, TOBY-R, and
SARA-R series, which support LTE
Cat 1 and Cat M1 standards for smart
gateways systems.
u-blox is committed to the smart
metering market, with an ATEX-
certified cellular portfolio and
manufacturing based on ISO 16785
to fulfill industry-specific rugged
specifications, such as for operation
in environments with extreme
Wireless Special Edition
New-Tech Magazine Europe l 65