A Comprehensive Guide—from LPWAN to UWB

Smart meters and Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices have moved far beyond simple data-collect ingend-points. Today’s utilities, energy service companies, and industrial operators increasingly need geo-visibility to prevent theft, speed up maintenance, prove regulatory compliance, and optimize field routes and also expect their connected assets to be traceable, secure, and available in real time—indoors, outdoors, and across national footprints. Selecting the right positioning technology therefore becomes a strategic decision that touches everything from deployment cost to service continuity and customer experience. Below is a concise comparison of the seven most common tracking technologies, followed by guidance on how they map to smart-metering use cases.

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Which Technology Fits Which Smart-Metering Scenario?

1. Mass Outdoor Roll-outs (Electricity, Gas & Water Utilities)

Recommended tech: GNSS or Cellular/LPWAN

o Why? Meters are usually mounted outdoors or in street-side cabinets. GNSS‐enabled modules offer sub-5 m precision for theft-prevention and service-territory verification, while LPWAN geolocation (Cell-ID, observed-time-difference-ofarrival, etc.) gives a “good-enough” radius at a fraction of the battery cost.

o SenseMi perspective: Our NB-IoT/LTE-M communication modules already

leverage the serving-cell information broadcast by mobile networks. Where

billing, regulator, or anti-tamper policies require pin-point accuracy, a GNSS addon can be fitted without changing the meter body.

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2. Dense Urban & Campus Environments Recommended tech:

BLE AoA or UWB

o Why? Sub-meter accuracy helps crews locate meters buried in cable ducts, congested basements, or multi-tenant risers. UWB is the gold standard when centimetres matter (e-mobility charging hubs, micro-generation clusters), whereas BLE AoA balances cost and precision for typical utility needs.

o Design tip: Anchor density drives cost. Plan anchors alongside existing metering concentrators or Wi-Fi APs to share power and backhaul.

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3. Indoor Asset Logistics (Warehouse Stock, Service Spares)

Recommended tech: BLE RSSI or Passive RFIDo

Why? From calibration labs to spare-part depots, keeping track of meter batches prevents loss and speeds up audits. Passive RFID gates at the dock door confirm pallet movements with zero battery maintenance—perfect for high-volume flows. BLE RSSI beacons give room-level visibility without the infrastructure bill of UWB.

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4. Worker Safety & Mobile Workforce

Recommended tech: UWB or BLE AoA (wearable tags)o

Why? Live-line crews, confined-space inspectors, and field technicians benefit from real-time location during emergencies. UWB’s 50 cm precision supports geofencing and proximity alerts around energised equipment. BLE AoA is aviable compromise for large fleets when 1-m accuracy suffices.

Five Selection Rules of Thumb

1. Accuracy vs. ROI Don’t pay for UWB if a 100 m radius meets regulations.

2. Battery Budget Continuous-fix GNSS drains cells fast; LPWAN geolocation can meet a 10-year spec.

3. Indoor/Outdoor Mix Pair LPWAN outdoors with BLE or UWB only where concrete or basements block satellites.

4. Anchor Density Tolerance LPWAN = 0 anchors, BLE RSSI ≈ 1 beacon/zone, UWB ≈ 2 anchors/100 m².

5. Regulatory Clearance LoRaWAN is licence-exempt; LTE bands are carrier-licensed; UWB sometimes needs local approval.

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How SenseMi Integrates Location into Smart-Metering Solutions

1. Modular Radio Cards – Swap LoRaWAN, LTE-M, or NB-IoT modules in the samemeter chassis; add BLE or GNSS chips only where needed.

2. Edge Tamper Logic – Meters wake high-precision modes (GNSS, UWB tag) only on unauthorised movement, protecting battery life.

3. AMI Geo-Dashboard – Live heat-maps, theft geofences, route optimisation, and bulk GIS export—all from a single pane.

4. Open REST & MQTT APIs – Stream position data to your work-order, billing, or analytics platforms in real time.

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Putting It All Together

For 80-90 % of smart-metering projects, LoRaWAN or LTE-M / NB-IoT deliver the ideal tradeoff between coverage, precision, and battery economy—especially when combined with SenseMi’s edge tamper detection and selective GNSS assist. Where business cases demand tighter fixes (underground vaults, worker safety, high-value industrial assets), BLE AoA orUWB can be layered surgically without redesigning the core meter.

Ready to future-proof your smart-meter roll-out?

Contact SenseMi Solutions to discuss a pilot that blends best-fit positioning technologies with our field-proven metering hardware and AMI software stack.