Joint Technology Agreement to Provide a Two-Way AMR Solution
DCSI and Badger Meter Sign Joint Technology Agreement to Provide a Two-Way AMR Solution for Non-Proximate Water and Gas Meters
TWACS® and ORION® Team for Solution to Retrieving Data from Pit-Set Meters
Distribution Control Systems, Inc. (DCSI) a subsidiary of ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE), and Badger Meter, Inc. (AMEX:BMI), announces the signing of a joint technology development effort to develop a product that integrates the Badger® ORION® transmitter and the Radio Frequency Link components of DCSI’s Two-Way Automatic Communication System (TWACS®) on July 23, 2004.
Badger Meter and DCSI agreed to incorporate the use of Badger Meter’s ORION® solution into the TWACS fixed network. This will provide for automated reading of pit-set water, water and gas meters with DCSI’s robust TWACS power line communication (PLC) system. This technology will provide Time-of-Use and On-Demand information services to utility customers.
When the joint technology is deployed, the ORION transmitter is planned to continuously send metering data directly to the TWACS transceiver installed in the electric meter where the data is stored until a predetermined transmission time or an on-demand request comes from the utility office. The data collection, storage and high performance two-way communication capabilities of the TWACS transceiver are key to the functionality of this RF system.
Bob Richardson, Sr. VP of New Business Development for DCSI explained, "The TWACS® system has been utilized for many years by DCSI’s electric utility customers to read water and/or gas meters, using a hard-wired solution. Last year, DCSI field tested our alternative to hard-wiring, called the TWACS Radio Frequency Link (RFL). The success of this approach caused us to seek out companies with which to work to extend our knowledge of utility fixed network communication systems into areas new to DCSI, such as the pit-set water meter environment. Badger’s ORION® solution accomplishes this objective, leading to a practical, cost-effective solution for multi-service utilities, as well as electric utilities that seek to partner with other utilities in their territory on a joint-use AMR system."
"For Badger Meter, this represents another way to serve our customers by offering the best-suited AMR solution for each utility’s needs," said Richard A. Meeusen, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Badger Meter, Inc. "We are pleased to be working with DCSI and look forward to a successful relationship."
Source: TWACS by DCSI