- IHS Markit forecasts show that global communicating meter shipments will more than double in size by the end of 2024.
- Asia Pacific is the most influential market behind this trend due to the overwhelming dominance of China globally.
- One of the key considerations for the total metering solution is the connectivity technology, but the future communications market will be a hybrid landscape.
Smart meters will grow to account for more than one-third of all unit shipments by 2025 as communicating meters continue to displace basic ones at increasing rates, forecasts the smart utilities team at IHS Markit.
For the last decade the communicating water meter market has primarily grown in regions such as Europe and North America, where existing market drivers such as ageing infrastructure and high labour costs have made smart metering investments cost-effective.
In new markets such as the Middle East, India, Australia and China, environmentally oriented policies and the declining cost of technology are starting to provide growth.
IHS Markit forecasts show that global communicating meter shipments will more than double in size by the end of 2024. Asia Pacific is the most influential market behind this trend due to the overwhelming dominance of China globally.
The continuous displacement of basic meters with communicating meters in China is largely driven by policies that support new network technologies and a growing middle class, which increases the cost of labor and strengthens the business case for automation.
The North American and EMEA markets still account for over 40% of communicating meter shipments in 2017 collectively and maintain growth over the long-term. In these more established markets, the conversation increasingly moves towards the total metering solution and related software/services as part of the utility’s investment.
One of the key considerations for the total metering solution is the connectivity technology, but the future communications market will be a hybrid landscape.
Find out more on Advanced Metering Infrastructure (ADI)
Author: GBA News Desk/ESI-Africa Contributor
This article was originally published on ESI Africa and is republished with permission with minor editorial changes.
