Airtel Business is rapidly acquiring leadership position in India’s smart metering space, thanks to its ability to provide connectivity, cloud infrastructure and applications as a bundled solution to AMISPs and utilities. In this interaction, we have Sharat Sinha, Director & CEO – Airtel Business, giving an in-depth of Airtel Business’ engagement in India’s 25-crore smart metering rollout as envisaged under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS). Sinha is confident that Airtel IoT is well-positioned to be a key enabler of India’s energy transformation journey, helping utilities improve their techno-commercial efficiency. An interview by Venugopal Pillai.
The smart metering ecosystem, as we broadly understand, involves a number of entities performing specific roles. Please help us understand the exact role that Airtel Business plays in this endeavour.
Airtel Business is strategically positioned as a comprehensive enabler within the smart metering ecosystem, delivering end-to-end solutions beyond meter hardware.
Leveraging its robust infrastructure, Airtel Business provides critical layers of the smart metering stack, encompassing secure and reliable communication networks, including cellular IoT technologies like NB-IoT optimized for low-throughput devices. The company’s digitally enabled network offers real-time visibility into network performance, a crucial asset for utility operations.
Building upon its established strengths in connectivity and cloud infrastructure, Airtel Business, more specifically Airtel IoT has expanded its portfolio to include key application layer components. This now encompasses a Head End System (HES) for efficient data ingestion, a Meter Data Management (MDM) platform for advanced analytics, and scalable prepaid billing software. These applications are natively hosted on Airtel business’s secure cloud platform, facilitating seamless integration with utility Distributed Control Systems to enhance billing accuracy, improve load forecasting, and optimize demand-side management.
The Airtel IoTHub platform offers a centralized management interface for SIMs and connected devices, streamlining provisioning, billing, network configuration, and support services tailored to diverse utility requirements. By providing this integrated suite of connectivity, cloud infrastructure, and application software, Airtel Business acts as a strategic single-point partner for large System Integrators (SIs) and Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) companies spearheading smart metering deployments. This comprehensive and secure approach significantly contributes to the digital transformation of India’s utility sector, enabling the development of a scalable and efficient smart metering ecosystem.
Tell us more on Airtel’s proprietary “Airtel IoTHub” explaining how discoms can deploy this to minimize their commercial losses from smart meters.
Airtel doesn’t have any direct play in minimizing commercial losses of discoms. However, by leveraging the Airtel IoTHub, AMISP can significantly improve operational efficiency, and enhance revenue assurance. This in turn leads to minimizing of commercial losses for discoms.
Airtel has won a series of orders in recent history. Tell us about the order from Adani Energy Solutions Ltd (AESL) involving over 20 million smart meters. What is the geographical spread of this order, and what is the broad current status?
Airtel Business, more specifically Airtel IoT, has won a significant order from Adani Energy Solutions Ltd (AESL) to provide connectivity and smart metering solutions for over 20 million smart meters.
This is a huge deployment spanning multiple states, including Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, and Uttarakhand. The project is well underway, with our IoTHub platform playing a central role.
This platform allows AESL to centrally manage millions of SIMs and devices, monitor network quality in real time, and ensure uninterrupted data flow from the meters to the utility’s systems.
Thus, helping AESL reduce losses, improve demand forecasting, and streamline billing and operations. In short, Airtel IoT’s solution is designed to be scalable and flexible, supporting AESL’s vision of transforming energy distribution in these states.
The partnership highlights Airtel IoT’s leadership in the smart metering ecosystem and its ability to deliver end-to-end IoT solutions that go beyond just connectivity.
We also note with interest that Airtel has partnered with Secure Meters for deployment of NB-IoT services in its smart meter rollout. What is NB-IoT technology? Also, please discuss the uniqueness of Airtel’s NB-IoT solution with respect to its “fall-back” option.
NB-IoT, or Narrowband IoT, is a low-power, wide-area network technology designed specifically for IoT devices like smart meters. It excels at providing deep indoor and rural coverage while consuming minimal power, making it perfect for connectivity for smart meters.
Airtel Business’s partnership with Secure Meters brings this technology to life. What sets Airtel IoT’s NB-IoT solution apart is its unique “fall-back” feature. If for some reason NB-IoT connectivity is unavailable, the system automatically switches to 2G or 4G networks. This ensures continuous, real-time data transmission from meters without interruption.
This fall-back mechanism is a game-changer because it addresses one of the biggest challenges in IoT deployments, which is network reliability. Utilities can be confident that their smart meters will stay connected even in challenging environments, reducing downtime and improving data accuracy.
This combination of NB-IoT’s deep coverage and Airtel’s multi-network fall-back makes their solution highly resilient and future-proof.
Please elaborate on Airtel’s partnership with IntelliSmart Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd for powering 20 million smart meters.
Airtel Business has teamed up with IntelliSmart Infrastructure Pvt Ltd to power up to 20 million smart meters across India. This partnership is a big step towards realizing the government’s vision for a pan-India smart grid.
Airtel Business brings its expertise in cellular IoT connectivity, cloud infrastructure, and application services to the table. IntelliSmart Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd benefits from our IoTHub platform, which enables centralized management of devices, real-time network monitoring, and seamless integration with utility systems for billing and analytics.
The solution supports multiple connectivity technologies—NB-IoT, 2G, and 4G—offering flexibility and ensuring meters stay connected regardless of location. This partnership is a testament to Airtel Business’s ability to deliver large-scale, end-to-end smart metering solutions that are secure, reliable, and scalable.
How is Airtel partnering different AMISP’s for future and current orders?
Airtel Business’s smart metering IoT orders have grown impressively. The majority of AMISPs have signed contracts with us and are using our IoT offering for their smart meter rollout. Some of the major wins are listed below:-
- Over 20 million meters for Adani Energy Solutions Ltd spanning five states
- Up to 20 million meters with IntelliSmart Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd Infrastructure
- Around 2.6 million meters in Bihar with Secure Meters
This scale clearly shows Airtel Business’s leadership in India’s smart metering space. Its ability to provide connectivity, cloud infrastructure, and applications as a bundled solution makes them a preferred partner for system integrators and utilities alike. These orders also reflect the growing trust in Airtel’s IoT platform and network capabilities to support India’s ambitious smart grid and energy transformation goals.
As a key enabler of India’s massive smart metering ambitions, what challenges do you foresee in the path of timely rollout of the 25 crore smart meters envisaged?
Rolling out 250 million smart meters across India is a massive undertaking, and several challenges lie ahead.
First, the geographical and topographical diversity of India means connectivity solutions must work reliably in deep rural and indoor locations, which Airtel Business is addressing with NB-IoT and multi-network fall-back.
Second, coordinating large-scale logistics, integrating new meters with existing discom systems, and ensuring interoperability among various vendors is complex.
Finally, utilities need to build capacity to manage and analyze the huge volume of data generated, which requires robust cloud and application platforms.
Despite these challenges, Airtel Business’s end-to-end IoT solutions, including the IoTHub and advanced applications, are designed to simplify deployments, reduce costs, and improve operational efficiency. This positions Airtel Business to support the government’s Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) and the national smart metering push.
Please discuss the growing importance of smart metering in Airtel’s overall IoT business. Given that India is implementing a massive smart meter rollout programme under RDSS, how do you see the road ahead for Airtel’s IoT vertical?
Smart metering is rapidly becoming one of the fastest-growing segments in Airtel’s IoT portfolio. With India’s massive rollout under the RDSS, Airtel Business’s connectivity, cloud, and other offerings are more relevant than ever.
Our strategy of bundling connectivity with cloud infrastructure and applications like HES, MDM, and prepaid billing software makes it easy and economical for utilities and system integrators to deploy smart metering solutions.
The company’s investment in NB-IoT networks, digital enablement of its cellular infrastructure, and the Airtel IoTHub platform provide the reliability, security, and scalability that utilities demand.
Looking ahead, Airtel’s IoT vertical is poised for strong growth, driven by government initiatives, increasing adoption of smart grids, and rising demand for energy management solutions.
Airtel IoT is well-positioned to be a key enabler of India’s energy transformation journey, helping utilities reduce losses, improve efficiency, and offer better services to consumers.
