Smart water networks, despite the benefits deriving from their use, have not yet become a standard for water service managers, due to a lack of:

Consolidated business cases capable of justifying the investment;

1) Funds (lack also caused by the economic crisis);

2) A universal regulatory framework;

3) Integrated, open, easy-to-use and interoperable technological solutions.

How to overcome these obstacles? The drafting of a shared regulatory framework is solving the problem of regulation and the attention on the water crisis in Europe has given rise to the allocation of funds for renewal and efficiency.

The key issue, the lack of a simple, open and interoperable technology remains. Many solutions on the market are proprietary and cannot be installed on multi-brand meters and sensors. Furthermore, the use of closed transmission protocols forces the purchase of software and hardware that do not integrate with existing ones.

A smart metering system that can aspire to widespread diffusion, such as the one proposed by MiDo Srl through a range of products called MiDoMet, must not ignore the following characteristics:

Self-powered with 10-year autonomy

Open hardware and versatility, i.e. the possibility of connection to any sensor, exploiting, in case radio modules, Wireless M-Bus and LoRa (Low Power Wide Area Network) frequencies 169/433/686mHz

Open communication protocols such as wireless M-Bus OMS or LoRaWan which guarantee the interoperability of the elements of infrastructure.

SAAS (Software as a Service). A good solution must also be completed by a management service based on cloud computing, capable of satisfying the need of small managers to acquire a smart system without making large investments.