Vi Business to provide integrated IoT solutions with Trilliant

Vodafone Idea’s enterprise arm Vi business said that it would build and deploy the integrated IoT solutions for the DISCOMS in partnership with Trilliant, a solution provider for smart grids.

These Internet of Things (IoT) solutions will be implemented at advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) projects in India.

Arvind Nevatia, Chief Enterprise Business Officer, Vodafone Idea Limited, said, "As a market leader in Integrated IoT and with extensive experience in Smart Metering, Vi Business remains focused on empowering DISCOMs, Citizens, and Service Providers to grow and reinvent in a smart and sustainable way. We strongly believe that our partnership with Trilliant will allow us to leverage their capability to deploy large-scale AMI projects and help us deliver advanced IoT solutions for the utility providers of tomorrow, driving the faster implementation of AMI in India. This collaboration also demonstrates our strong commitment to the energy and utility space in the country and will help DISCOMs reap the benefits of AMI solutions in a secure and integrated way."

Dan Lambert, Chief Solutions Officer, Trilliant, said, "We are delighted to be partnering with a leading communications provider like Vi Business, and the significant opportunities it presents to both parties, and most importantly to India. To date, Trilliant has deployed more than 1.5 Mn smart meters from six different meter vendors in India for seven utilities in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana states. We’re looking forward to better supporting utilities in India with the combination of Trilliant’s depth of global experience in the AMI and IoT space and Vi’s brand, its best-in-class solutions, and stellar track record."

AMI is an integrated system that includes communication networks, smart meters, and data management systems. More DISCOMS are switching to it to reduce the traditional operating costs incurred on meter reading, collections, customer services, and power theft management.

Vi Business is, as of now, working with the 25 DISCOMS on several AMI projects and has connected with three million meters in India. The company claims that two out of three smart meters in the country are powered by them.

With Trilliant’s help, Vi Business will create a bundled offering of cloud, connectivity, and headend systems(HES) with managed services for AMI projects.

HES is used to automatically acquire data from smart meters and also monitor distribution patterns which come in handy for accurate billing, analysis, and auditing of power supply.