Washington energy technology company Itron is integrating LoRaWan software from German firm Digimondo into its Cyble 5 communications module to give utilities a flexible, independent way to connect, monitor and manage their water distribution network.

Combining Itron’s expertise in smart metering and Digimondo’s Niota IoT software, this collaboration could help utilities create and operate their own LoRaWan for remote reading of water meters.

By taking advantage of Itron’s Cyble 5 out-of-the-box connectivity, and Digimondo’s interoperable IoT software capabilities, utilities can transform their mechanical meters into smart devices, and transport the data generated in the field, such as meter readings, alarms and diagnosis information, through existing LoRaWans.

Beyond smart metering, the combination harnesses the power of LoRaWans to build the foundation for smart water operations, and smart cities and communities. With the latest version of Niota, released in February 2021, utilities can also leverage the power of the embedded digital-twin technology to manage, add or remove communicating endpoints, such as Cyble 5 modules, virtually without data loss or operational downtimes.

“With more than 200 million endpoints delivered, we recognise that devices are the beginning of every customer journey, and we are committed to bringing our expertise to utilities operating under industry-wide networks,” said Justin Patrick, senior vice president at Itron. “By collaborating with Digimondo, we are able to offer our German customers a flexible way to manage and monitor their distribution network based on secure, industry-established IoT open standards.”

Digimondo was founded in 2016 and has 25 employees. It develops IoT software and enables its customers to implement IoT independently. More than 40 network operators in Germany as well as international customers from industry and facility management use its IoT software.

“By providing Cyble 5 access to existing LoRaWans, we can now offer a ready-to-use solution for remote reading of water and gas meters in cooperation with Itron,” said Christopher Rath, CEO at Digimondo. “The combination of Itron’s hardware expertise and our independent IoT software enables our customers in Germany to support their smart metering projects as an IoT use case.”

Itron’s Cyble 5 modules are available through Pipersberg, Itron’s distributor in Germany.