THTC meter - Removal Request

I’ve also had a good search and can’t find anything specific about4G communication hubs being ‘approved’ for use in Scotland.

However I found and posted this 2-days ago, and it makes me think that 2-seperate things may be being confused here.
Such confusions are not uncommon - a case of Chineese whispers, in this case with a bit of parliamentary help from  Alasdair Allan MSP to stir up that confusion.

In a nutshell:

Yes, - there is a Scottish Governmant project underway to provide 4G masts in remote areas of Scotland including the Western Isles.
It’s called the Scottish 4G Infill programme (S4GI). 

No, - it is not at this time intended for 4G to be used for smart meter connectivity in Scotland.
Mr Allan’s parliamentery answer only says that  (my emphasis) :

We have delivered 55 mobile masts in rural and island areas, all of which are available on an open access basis and could potentially be used to site smart meter radio infrastructure. 

Note also that that doesn’t say 4G infrastructure but ‘radio infrastructure’.

(It's a typical Parliamentary written answer that at first glance appears to be answering the question asked but is actually saying something different altogether).

IF 4G communication hubs are ever approved for use in the North of England and Scottland then they will be able to connect to those 4G masts.
But I can’t find anything that says such use has already been approved.
IIRC there is some legal reason why only the Arquiva Long Range Radio should be used in the North.

See the link to the Scottish Parliament Q&A’s in this post:

​@Nukecad ​@Firedog 

This FB post backs my statement up…

Update for Shetland consumers.

The whole of Shetland is about to get approval to allow elec suppliers to install smart meters that use the cellular network, approval due end March.

At the OVO public meeting a few weeks ago I had the opportunity to submit some questions to OVO and I've now had responses.

Although an OVO response this should apply to other suppliers, especially the ones who use the same sub contractor as OVO (SMS), from memory, Octopus and maybe UW.

I'm aware that some individual properties in the Arqiva area (N England & Scotland) have had these type of meters installed but there's a lengthy approval process to have them installed.

I'm not aware of any regions in the Arqiva area getting this approval, it's clearly a response to the poor connectivity rate and the sheer number of properties with RTS (reported locally as 5,000).

They're well aware the cellular network is also patchy in areas, this just gives them another option, the ultimate fall back is probably the dumb meter with the configured off peak times. They also have access to cellular booster aerials and hubs to improve the signal in some areas.

This was my question and their response.

Question

Many Shetland OVO customers have reported unsuccessful installs where the smart meters can't connect to the Arqiva signal, in many cases the existing meters have been refitted, and the customers have been advised they'll need to wait for another solution. Has a solution been identified, is it a standalone meter or does it require some other type of comms (3/4G, wifi?) and is there a timetable to commence rollout of the new solution?

Response

We continue to push the Data Communications Company (DCC), who manage the communications infrastructure and are responsible for the signal strength, to improve Wide Area Network coverage nationwide but by the end of March, following approval by DESNZ we will be able to use cellular technology for RTS customers in Shetland. This will increase the coverage we can provide and our engineers will start using them right away. If neither of these solutions work in a customer's homes we have other solutions we would use to remove and replace the RTS meters before the switch off.

I’ll let you know 30-April, when I have an appointment to have a cellular Smart Meter installed in my home.

Good to see some progress on this, even if it is only for Shetland.

Large amounts of the rest of Scotland have no Arquiva WAN coverage either so hopefully a similar approach can be used there so that we can all benefit from the advantages that a working smart meter brings. 

​@Retroanaconda 

It's not only Shetland. I'm Loch Ness way.

I may be the first test in mainland Scotland tho.

There have been trials of dual-mode communication hubs going on for some time, but there is undoubtedly a variety of hardware being tested. It will be fascinating to hear how it goes with you: squeaky wheels come to mind. “Octopus told us that it had in fact decided to break the rules and fix his meter by connecting it to the mobile network.“ (Energy smart meter issues creating north-south divide - BBC News). I wonder if ​@Retroanaconda has pestered his MSP or the minister responsible Alasdair Allan?

It looks like Shetland had been chosen to kick off a revised drive to complete the smart meter/RTS removal roll out, presumably they now believe they have all the hardware  available to complete the installs whether using the Arqiva signal or one of the other solutions they can now use.

https://www.shetnews.co.uk/2025/04/09/spring-surge-replace-electricity-meters/

Thanks for your updates everyone - sounds like their may be some light at the end of the tunnel here. ​@monster9 please do keep us updated as to how the appointment goes on 30/04, we’d appreciate it, thank you!

I have not no. I am waiting for all the RTS stuff to be done before trying again as I imagine all focus is on that at the moment.

My appointment for 4g cellular Smart Meter installation has been cancelled - for a second time.

• Original appointment made on 04 April for installation on 10 April was cancelled on 05 April
• Subsequent appointment made on 08-April for installation on 30 April was cancelled on 25 April

A pattern is beginning to emerge.

Ovo complaints dept are unable to tell me the reason this most recent appointment has been cancelled.

They will alert their Customer Resolution Specialist. I look forward to their call.

The earlier 10 April appointment was cancelled as their system determined that I sat outside the Smart Meter WAN - so a Smart Meter would not function.

But the whole point of the appointment was to install a Smart Meter that doesn’t rely on the traditional Smart Meter WAN, and that uses 4g cellular comms instead.

It beggars belief.