Editing Automatic meter reading (section)

==== Wi-Fi ====
[[WiSmart]] is a versatile platform which can be used by a variety of electrical home appliances in order to provide wireless [[TCP/IP]] communication using the 802.11 b/g protocol.

Devices such as the Smart Thermostat permit a utility to lower a home's power consumption to help manage power demand.

The city of [[Corpus Christi, Texas|Corpus Christi]] became one of the first cities in the [[United States]] to implement citywide [[Wi-Fi]], which had been free until May 31, 2007, mainly to facilitate AMR after a meter reader was attacked by a dog.<ref>[http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=201400236 EarthLink Dedicates Wi-Fi Network In Corpus Christi]</ref> Today many{{Which|date=January 2010}} meters are designed to transmit using Wi-Fi, even if a Wi-Fi network is not available, and they are read using a drive-by local Wi-Fi hand held receiver.

The meters installed in Corpus Christi are not directly Wi-Fi enabled, but rather transmit narrow-band burst [[telemetry]] on the 460&nbsp;MHz band.  This narrow-band signal has much greater range than Wi-Fi, so the number of receivers required for the project are far fewer. Special receiver stations then decode the narrow-band signals and resend the data via Wi-Fi.

Most of the automated utility meters installed in the Corpus Christi area are battery powered.  Wi-Fi technology is unsuitable for long-term battery-powered operation.