u-blox has become an official member of the European Smart Metering Industry Group (ESMIG) – the European voice of smart energy solution providers. ESMIG represents European companies that provide products, information technology and services for multi-commodity metering, display and management of energy consumption and production at consumer premises. Its focus is to make energy cleaner, more affordable and more reliable.
u-blox offers an ATEX certified cellular portfolio and manufacturing based on ISO16785 to fulfill industry-specific rugged specifications, compliant with quality and reliability standards. The company strives to deliver value to the metering industry through continuous innovation. Recently introduced modules based on LTE Cat M1 and NB-IoT technologies are designed to improve coverage and signal penetration, while extending the battery life of deployed smart meters. u-blox has recently announced its own LTE Cat 1 technology to cater to the industrial market trend where verticals such as the energy sector focus on functionality and longevity with a product lifetime of over a decade.
Founded nine years ago in Brussels as an independent group, ESMIG has quickly become a full European association with strong links to the European Commission and access to the latest information on smart utilities. It maintains an active list of smart meter rollouts and works actively to harmonize standards across Europe.
"We welcome u-blox to ESMIG and look forward to u-blox’s contribution to the activities of ESMIG on both political and technical issues related to consumer energy management. We appreciate u-blox’s expertise on wireless communication and its application in the utility industry," said Willem Strabbing, Managing Director of ESMIG.
"By joining ESMIG we show our commitment to industrial applications and customers. We look forward to interacting with special interest groups and interdisciplinary organizations in the smart metering ecosystem, also by sharing our expertise," said Thomas Seiler, u-blox CEO. "Working along with the European Commission will also allow us to have access to the new technology and regulation initiatives in the smart energy sector at a very early stage and shape our smart metering product portfolio accordingly."