The Governments £1bn smart metering plan will see every household and business across England and Wales being fitted with a smart meter. The meter will show people the rate and cost of their energy output. Now, mobile phone operators are in talks with energy companies so people can monitor this info via mobile phones.

Energy giant EDF has installed 3,000 meters as part of Ofgem’s programme, and has confirmed it has been talking to ‘a number of operators’ over its plans for smart meters. An EDF spokesman said: ‘We have used mobile communications (GSM) as part of these trials with reasonable success,’ and expected that ‘one or two mobile communications technologies will be prominent’ in the smart meter programme.

The meters would allow networks to compete with fixed line and Wi-Fi offerings by setting up meters that act as home hubs using femtocells. O2 confirmed it is speaking to ‘all the big utility companies’ about smart metering. Telefónica Europe VP Mike Short told Mobile: ‘It is logical to look at smart metering as we try to move towards smarter homes. As part of Digital Britain, we are serving and taking more information to and from the home, be that video, data or voice, and we need to ensure adequate coverage.’

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