“The most resilient communication network is not the one with the most towers. It is the one that places intelligence where the data begins. In modern water utilities, every meter becomes both a measuring instrument and a trusted communicator, transforming millions of individual readings into a continuous conversation about the health of an entire distribution system.” – MJ Martin
Introduction
Badger Meter has developed a communications strategy that closely mirrors the layered architecture found in modern cellular networks. Rather than relying on a single communications method for every application, Badger Meter offers a scalable ecosystem that can support small rural municipalities, rapidly growing suburban communities, and dense urban centres. The objective is not simply to collect monthly meter readings. It is to create a resilient communications platform capable of delivering continuous operational intelligence, leak detection, customer engagement, and long term asset management.
The Wide Area Coverage Layer
At the highest level, Badger Meter’s ORION Cellular endpoints communicate directly with commercial LTE networks operated by Canadian wireless carriers. Like a cellular macro cell, this architecture provides broad geographic coverage without requiring the municipality to install and maintain its own radio infrastructure.
This model is particularly attractive for municipalities with dispersed populations or multiple service districts. Because communications infrastructure already exists across much of Canada, utilities can deploy smart meters without constructing towers, installing repeaters, or licensing radio frequencies.
Coverage quality ultimately depends upon the availability of LTE service, making site surveys and carrier coverage assessments an important component of every deployment.
The Neighbourhood Layer
Within municipalities where cellular coverage is strong, each Badger Meter endpoint operates as an independent communications device rather than relying upon neighbourhood collectors.
This architecture eliminates a traditional point of failure. Unlike mesh networks that depend upon neighbouring meters to relay information, every ORION Cellular endpoint establishes its own secure connection to the cloud. If one endpoint fails, surrounding meters continue operating normally because they remain completely independent.
The result is a highly resilient network that scales naturally as new customers are added.
The Customer Layer
The foundation of the system remains the Badger Meter E Series Ultrasonic water meter.
Each meter continuously measures water flow using solid state ultrasonic technology with no moving mechanical components. The integrated ORION Cellular transmitter securely delivers consumption data, reverse flow events, continuous flow conditions, suspected leaks, low battery alerts, and diagnostic information directly to the utility.
Like an individual smartphone connected to Canada’s cellular infrastructure, every meter becomes an intelligent Internet of Things device with its own direct communications pathway.
Cloud Connectivity Through BEACON
Once information leaves the meter, it enters the BEACON Software as a Service platform.
BEACON functions much like the core network of a cellular provider. Rather than simply storing readings, it continuously analyzes incoming information to identify abnormal consumption patterns, customer leaks, potential distribution losses, and operational trends.
Utilities gain near real time visibility into their distribution system while customers benefit from faster notification of unusual water usage before a monthly bill arrives.
Because BEACON is cloud based, municipalities avoid maintaining local servers while automatically receiving software enhancements and cybersecurity updates.
Rural Versus Urban Deployments
One of the strengths of the Badger Meter architecture is that the same endpoint technology serves both rural and urban environments.
In rural Canada, cellular connectivity eliminates the need for expensive radio towers covering large geographic areas. The wireless carrier performs the role of the communications network while the municipality focuses on operating its water system.
In urban environments, the abundance of cellular infrastructure provides excellent communications density. High rise developments, commercial districts, and residential neighbourhoods all benefit from existing LTE coverage, allowing utilities to expand their advanced metering infrastructure without deploying municipal gateway hardware.
As Canadian carriers continue expanding 5G and future wireless technologies, the communications foundation supporting ORION Cellular will likewise continue to improve.
A Simple Yet Powerful Architecture
The elegance of the Badger Meter approach lies in its simplicity.
The water meter measures consumption.
The ORION Cellular endpoint securely transmits information.
Canada’s commercial cellular network transports the data.
The BEACON cloud platform transforms measurements into operational intelligence.
Like Canada’s modern cellular system, every layer has a clearly defined responsibility. Together they create a communications architecture that is scalable, resilient, and well suited to Canadian municipalities seeking to modernize water management while minimizing infrastructure ownership and ongoing maintenance.
Questions for Discussion
As Canadian municipalities plan their next generation water infrastructure, several important questions emerge. Is leveraging Canada’s commercial cellular infrastructure more economical over a twenty year lifecycle than building and maintaining a private radio network? How should utilities evaluate connectivity in remote regions where LTE coverage remains inconsistent? Finally, as artificial intelligence becomes integrated into platforms such as BEACON, how can municipalities best use predictive analytics to reduce non revenue water, improve customer service, and extend the life of critical infrastructure?
About the Author:
Michael Martin is the Vice President of Technology with Metercor Inc., a Smart Meter, IoT, and Smart City systems integrator based in Canada. He has more than 40 years of experience in systems design for applications that use broadband networks, optical fibre, wireless, and digital communications technologies. He is a business and technology consultant. He was a senior executive consultant for 15 years with IBM, where he worked in the GBS Global Center of Competency for Energy and Utilities and the GTS Global Center of Excellence for Energy and Utilities. He is a founding partner and President of MICAN Communications and before that was President of Comlink Systems Limited and Ensat Broadcast Services, Inc., both divisions of Cygnal Technologies Corporation (CYN: TSX).
Martin served on the Board of Directors for TeraGo Inc (TGO: TSX) and on the Board of Directors for Avante Logixx Inc. (XX: TSX.V). He has served as a Member, SCC ISO-IEC JTC 1/SC-41 – Internet of Things and related technologies, ISO – International Organization for Standardization, and as a member of the NIST SP 500-325 Fog Computing Conceptual Model, National Institute of Standards and Technology. He served on the Board of Governors of the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) [now Ontario Tech University] and on the Board of Advisers of five different Colleges in Ontario – Centennial College, Humber College, George Brown College, Durham College, Ryerson Polytechnic University [now Toronto Metropolitan University]. For 16 years he served on the Board of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), Toronto Section.
He holds three master’s degrees – in business (MBA), communication (MA), and education (MEd). As well, he has three undergraduate diplomas and seven major certifications in business, computer programming, internetworking, project management, media, photography, and communication technology. He has completed over 80 next generation MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses) [aka Micro Learning] continuous education programs in a wide variety of topics, including: Economics, Python Programming, Internet of Things, Cloud, Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive systems, Blockchain, Agile, Power BI, Big Data, Design Thinking, Security, Indigenous Canada awareness, and more.
Martin in a volunteer, a photographer, a learner, a technologist, a philosophizer, and a romantic optimist.