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Wide Area Network

The Smart Metering Wide Area Network (SMWAN or WAN for short) is the name given to the communications network between the communications hub sitting on top of your electricity meter and the company responsible for collecting the data and passing it on to other businesses such as suppliers. This company will usually be the Data Communications Company (DCC) which the government has set up especially for the role of supporting SMETS 2 meters.

As the North and South of the country have different characteristics, different communications system technologies were originally chosen for both. One Communications Service Provider (CSP) operates in the North and another in the South with the dividing line roughly from Liverpool to Hull.

Scotland and the North of England

Long-Range Radio communications (LRR) is used by Arqiva Limited in Scotland and the North of England. The LRR system uses infrastructure and technology similar to that already used for other important national communications networks, such as those for emergency services and keeping lifeboat stations connected. Some 700 communication towers communicate directly with smart meter Communications Hubs in homes using the 400MHz band.

By 1^st June 2020 Arqiva Limited had achieved their maximum contracted coverage of at least 99.5%, achieving 99.55%.

Mobile 4G

From the 30^th May 2025 it has been agreed to use 4G communications hubs in Scotland and the North. This will give more flexibility to achieve a good and consistent communications link.

Central & Southern England and Wales

The 2G/3G cellular radio communications network is used by Telefónica (Virgin Media O2) in the rest of England and Wales, known as the Central & South regions. This system is commonly used by mobile phones. In a cellular system, geographical areas are divided into regular shaped "cells".

Additionally, Telefónica also use aerials and local mesh networks to improve coverage. A mesh uses other comms hubs in meters around you to reach a comms hub with a radio link to DCC. This form of communications looks like a mesh when you draw out the possible links between meters and is therefore known as a Mesh network.

By 1^st January 2021 Telefónica had achieved their maximum contracted coverage of at least 99.25% in the Central and South Regions, achieving 99.25%.

2G and 3G networks to close by 2033

The government and UK mobile network operators have agreed to phase out 2G and 3G mobile networks by 2033 in order to free up bandwidth for 5G and future 6G services. This impacts the service provided by Telefónica (Virgin Media O2) for Smart Meter communications in the Central and Southern regions of the UK.

This change will require the replacement of communications hubs on the Smart Electricity Meters in the Central and Southern regions of the UK. To achieve this DCC plan to have 4G single band Communications Hubs designed and available in 2023, with dual band to follow in Q2 2024. The roll-out itself is expected to begin in December 2024 with a testing phase until July 2025 when mass roll-out will begin.

4G connectivity for the smart meter network will be provided by Vodafone who have signed a services agreement with DCC. The agreement, signed in 2023, is to build and operate a 4G managed network for up to 15 years.

The Telefónica and Vodafone services will run alongside each other as the Smart Meters are transferred to the 4G service.

Broadband Communications

In 2026 smart meter communications via the householder's broadband connection has been tested successfully. This is known as the Virtual Wide Area Network or VWAN. This is a really important step in helping more households and small businesses connect to the national smart metering network where the other options are failing.

Communication Workarounds

In some conditions normal communications equipment won't be enough, and you may have to live with a Smart Meter that does not communicate, requiring you to take regular meter readings.

However, depending how much you are willing to do and/or spend there can be a solution.

Use of mobile network in Scotland and North

Although installations in Scotland and the North of England usually use the Long-Range Radio communications system we have heard of a number of cases where the supplier has used the mobile network by fitting a comms hub (SKU1 or SKU2) usually used in the South. In some cases a T2 aerial had to be added for this to work.

Note that from the 30^th May 2025 it has been agreed to use 4G communications hubs in Scotland and the North.

Boost mobile comms signal

If your communications hub is using the mobile network for Smart Meter Communications, you may sometimes find that the mobile signal is too weak. One option, although expensive, is to boost the mobile signal locally by buying your own booster.

In the example quoted to us the customer purchased an Ofcom compliant commercial grade mobile signal repeater to boost the signal to enable Smart Meter communications.