IoT SIM for electricity, water and gas smart metering

Multi-carrier SIM for meters, PLC concentrators and metering branches in Spain. NB-IoT where deployed, automatic fallback to LTE-M and 4G LTE where it isn't, private static IP per meter for SCADA and dedicated APN to your DSO. Compatible with PRIME, G3-PLC and Meters & More. ICCID-keyed traceability for regulatory audit.

Carriers and metering technologies in Spain

Spain is the market where we've deployed the most metering since 2013. The SIM connects to the three national networks with configurable priority and fallback, using NB-IoT where available to minimize meter battery and data consumption.

To validate NB-IoT availability at a specific location before bulk ordering, the fastest path is the SIM Test Kit (free shipping to Spain in 24–48 h). The modem reports negotiated technology and link quality. For concentrators in curb boxes or basements with marginal coverage, a dual NB-IoT/LTE-M modem is usually the right call.

Typical use cases in smart metering

• Residential electricity meters (AMR/AMI smart metering)
• PLC concentrators at the transformer station
• Municipal water metering (consumption and flow)
• Natural gas metering (residential and industrial)
• Industrial submetering (per-line or per-equipment consumption)
• Public lighting telemanagement
• BESS and PV plant monitoring (self-consumption)
• Low-voltage substations (telecontrol)
• Power quality monitoring and network event logging

Frequently asked questions about IoT SIMs for smart metering

What's the average monthly data consumption of an NB-IoT meter?

For residential AMR with metering every 6 h, typical consumption is 100–500 kB/month per meter. For AMI with hourly or sub-hourly metering plus load curve, it rises to 1–5 MB/month. For PLC concentrators aggregating multiple meters, it depends on the number of measurements and frequency (10–100 MB/month is common). At €0.005/MB pay-as-you-go, an AMR meter consumes < €0.01/month in data.

NB-IoT coverage by carrier in Spain?

Movistar and Vodafone have NB-IoT deployed nationally with good results for indoor metering (band 8/20 penetrates walls and curb boxes well). Orange is more focused on LTE-M; in areas where NB-IoT fails, the SIM falls back automatically to LTE-M or 4G LTE. To validate a location before quantities, the SIM Test Kit on-site is fastest — the modem reports negotiated technology and RSRP.

Private APN against my management system as DSO?

Yes. We provision a dedicated APN with your CIDR range (RFC1918) and an IPSec or WireGuard tunnel into your VPC on cloud or on-prem DC. Your meters report directly to your system without traversing the public Internet. Compatible with regulator cybersecurity audits and current telemanagement circular requirements.

Support for PRIME, G3-PLC and Meters & More?

The IoT SIM doesn't participate in the PLC layer (it's cellular transport from the concentrator outward, not between meter and concentrator). Where it does participate is in the concentrator backhaul, which sends aggregated measurements to the central system over cellular. We've deployed with PRIME, G3-PLC and Meters & More concentrators from the main Spanish vendors. Tech support configures the APN and network parameters so the backhaul is transparent to the underlying PLC protocol.

Is static IP mandatory?

No, it's optional. For setups where the meter initiates connections (push to the central system), no static IP is needed. When SCADA initiates (pull), or when corporate firewall rules whitelist by IP, private static IP is the standard solution. It's contracted as an add-on per SIM, with no impact on the rest of the park.

How is regulatory incident reporting managed?

Each SIM is identified by ICCID in the portal and API. Each network event (activation/suspension, PDP session, outage) is logged with timestamp and data consumed. The API allows exporting logs by date range and ICCIDs to build the regulator report or internal audit. The enterprise SLA includes structured monthly reporting.

2G → NB-IoT migration during maintenance?

2G is being progressively switched off in Spain (Vodafone Spain completed sunset in 2024). For meter parks still using 2G, we recommend planned migration aligned with the maintenance or meter-replacement cycle. The IoT SIM keeps 2G compatibility as last-resort fallback, but the deployment sizing should be on NB-IoT/LTE-M/4G as primary technologies.

MFF2 for integration into the meter?

Yes. For meter manufacturers integrating the SIM directly on the PCB, we offer solderable MFF2 WLCSP (5×6 mm) with industrial range -40 °C to +105 °C. Same logical IMSI and plan as the removable 4FF; useful for keeping a single BoM between prototyping and production.

SLA available for critical infrastructure?

Yes, on the enterprise tariff. Defines minimum availability per SIM/month, incident response time, scheduled maintenance window and breach compensation. Applicable to regulated deployments (telemanagement, critical infrastructure) where service reporting is contractual.