Contributing to Airtel’s expanding Internet of Things (IoT) deployment across, this partnership represents one of the largest deals in the smart metering domain within India.
Indian telecom giant Bharti Airtel has recently announced a strategic partnership with IntelliSmart Infrastructure Private Limited, a leading provider of smart metering and digital solutions. It is aimed at powering up to 20 million smart meters, marking Airtel’s entry into the smart metering sector, which includes head end system, meter data management systems, cloud, and analytics.
Airtel’s IoT offering includes its proprietary platform, the ‘Airtel IoT Hub’, designed to enable efficient tracking and monitoring of these smart meters through advanced analytics while ensuring high reliability and telco-grade security. Hosted on Airtel’s own cloud network, the IoT hub empowers enterprise users to seamlessly connect and manage billions of devices and applications securely.
Ganesh Lakshminarayanan, CEO of Airtel Business (India), stated, ” IoT is one of the fastest-growing business segments for Airtel Business and, with this deal, we are now strategically positioned to play a pivotal role in driving the Govt. of India’s vision of digitising 250 million conventional meters to smart meters. As we connect the devices across the country on our platform, we will exponentially grow our current IoT market share of 55.4% (as on Q1 FY23-24).”
The Government of India aims to replace 250 million conventional meters with smart meters over the next five years as part of the Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) initiative. Airtel IoT aims to play a crucial role in realizing this vision by leveraging its unique capabilities. The digitisation of the power sector, supported by the government’s transparency and consumer-friendly measures, is expected to lead to the widespread adoption of innovative solutions such as smart meters.
Established as a joint venture between Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) and the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), IntelliSmart is committed to becoming the preferred digital partner for utilities by emphasizing core values such as Integrity, Respect, Innovation, and Sustainability in its operations.
Anil Rawal, MD & CEO of Intellismart Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd., expressed confidence in the partnership, saying, “We are confident that the on-boarding of Airtel as a strategic partner will be a significant step towards our goal of creating strong associations to strengthen our infrastructure solution with a resilient and secure cloud-hosted cellular communication network.”
