Indian utilities and local government bodies are set to accelerate the deployment of smart meters and other connected IoT devices across their networks, as the Wi-SUN Alliance launches its FAN certification program for products in India.
A Field Area Network (FAN) certification from the Wi-SUN Alliance provides buyers of smart meters and other IoT devices with assurance that the equipment they are buying adheres to a high standard of security, resilience, and interoperability.
Comminent, Renesas Electronics, and Silicon Labs have become the first vendors to have their smart devices tested and passed at CN Labs’ testing facility in Bengaluru, India, to ensure compliance with the Wi-SUN FAN specification. The program certifies the communications functionality of products such as smart meters, Data Concentrator Units (DCUs), generic communications modules and development kits, as well as other smart sensors.
“With India aiming to complete its roll out of more than 250 million smart meters in the next few years, it is vital that deployments can be scaled, devices can communicate and interoperate, while adhering to strict cyber security requirements to make the region’s ambitious utility and smarty city projects a reality,” said Wi-SUN Alliance India Regional coordinator Amarjeet Kumar. “Wireless mesh networks, comprised of tested and certified devices, are essential for utilities to deliver reliable smart grid infrastructure to meet rising customer expectations.”
Wi-SUN FAN has been adopted by the national standards body for India, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), as the national standard (IS:18010(Part4/Sec1)) for India’s Smart Meter Radio Frequency Communication Networks. The standard is also adopted by IEEE as IEEE 2857.
The resilient, self-healing mesh structure of FAN allows communications to continue operating even if part of the network fails. It also supports dense urban networks, where a mix of both old and new architecture causes a major challenge for less adapted wireless technologies such as cellular.
Additionally, Wi-SUN FAN supports high data rates, and the capability for fast network reformation, allowing utility and municipality networks to quickly return to normal operation after network disruption such as a power loss.
“To date, many of India’s utilities have relied on proprietary solutions for their communications networks, leading to dependence on specific vendors,” said Wi-SUN Alliance CEO Phil Beecher. “Wi-SUN FAN’s highly secure and scalable standards-based wireless mesh technology will support the growth of utilities and smart cities in India and ensure the rapid rollout of smart meter projects over the next few years.”
Wi-SUN FAN is a proven specification for smart metering networks and has been deployed in millions of units across various countries.
