Sadly, I think the answer to your queries is that ‘nobody here knows’. The new dual-mode (UHF radio/LTE 4G) communication hubs being trialled in Scotland are a closely-guarded secret. This is the latest we heard:
 

It’s interesting that the poster understands that the 4G module will (try to) connect to the O2 network, while I learnt at some stage that the SIM used would be network-agnostic like the ones used in SMETS1 meters. There is hope, then, that a SIM like that would be able to pick up the EE signal you say is available.

All we can say at this stage is that the tech people are working very hard to find solutions for those currently outwith the smart meter WAN in N Scotland.  

Meanwhile, if you currently get your TV signal from the Baltasound transmitter, you could ask Arqiva whether there’s any possibility of installing a repeater there for the SMWAN; if there were, a concerted effort by you, your neighbours and your local council might help make this work. You’ll notice that ​@monster9 had to get his MSP to intervene, so that’s another avenue to be explored.

Last, even though you don’t have line-of-sight to Bressay, it’s not unthinkable that a simple dipole repeater could make it possible to capture the signal: https://www.speakev.com/posts/3386972/ Of course, this could only be tried after a smart meter has been installed ...

I don't think it's  a case of the technology only working with Vodaphone but rather that Vodaphone are the provider who were awarded the 4G contract for smart meter commuication hubs to use their network.

For 2G/3G coms hubs ‘down South’ It was o2  who had the contract, but those are in the process of being replaced.

When I heard a few days ago that using 4G coms hubs in Scotland had been ‘approved’ I had a bit of a search to see if I could find anything official about it.

I didn't find what I was looking for but I did come across the figures for how much the ‘G’ phone network contracts cost the DCC, compared to the Arquiva network which costs them a lot, lot, less.

(I'll post a link if I can find it again).

Which is probably why DCC have been resisting having 4G coms hubs in the North, it could vastly increase their costs. (Which would eventually trickle through to bills, probably in the standing charges).

IIRC it was O2/Telefonica who had the 2G/3G contract for the Southern Territory, but Vodaphone are taking over for the 4G contract.

Worth noting that this stuff runs on private infrastructure though. A regular signal booster might not be compatible with it for that reason - I cannot say for sure though unfortunately.

Yes I had them the wrong way round, that’s what can happen when you go from memory and don’t check. (I’ll correct them).

Here is that article I was refering to:

This is from 15 Jan 2025 so fairly recent:
https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2025/01/dcc-and-vodafone-begin-uk-trial-of-new-4g-energy-smart-meter-upgrade.html

Note that there is nothing there about fitting 4G coms hubs in the north, only about replacing the 2G/3G in the South.
However as we are all aware things are moving pretty quickly to try an get everyone connected before the RTS shutdown.

BTW when you compare the costs per-customer between the LRR and the contracts it isn’t that different, but still significant over millions of customers.
Very rough figures but it seems to be about 7% more to connect over 2G/3G.
Arquiva - 15 year contract £625 million. (19 million customers £32.89 per customer)
O2 - 15 year contract £1.5 billion. (42.3 million customers, £35.46 per customer)

Here we go I found something recent.

According to a 17 Feb 2025 Scottish Parliament Q&A 4G communications for smart meters in Scotland are supposedly being provided by the Scottish 4G Infill programme (S4GI).
https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/questions-and-answers/question?ref=S6W-34324

However I say "supposedly" because that S4GI is a programme of providing 4G masts for remote areas, it is not about connecting 4G smart meter coms hubs to them.

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 that that says ‘to site … radio infrastructre’ (ie. Arquiva LRR), not 4G infrastructure.

https://www.whptelecoms.com/case-study/whp-telecoms-delivers-scottish-4g-infill-programme-s4gi/

You can have a 4G mast right next door, but if DCC won't let you have a 4G coms hub on your SM to connect to it then so what.

I can see blips at 422.487.500 using RTL-SDR Blog V4 R828D RTL2832U I recently got off Ebay with a  multipurpose dipole antenna kit, no idea if there is enough signal strength though !

2.5 hours ago the smart meter install was supposed to have started.

No sign of engineer yet.
 

​@shetland sorry to hear they haven’t arrived. We normally book four hour timeslots, eg 8am - 12pm, and the engineer arrives any time within that four hour slot, it could even be five minutes to 12 if that makes sense. I hope they show up soon!

You could always try contacting our Support Team to check if the appointment is still booked.

Engineer arrived, but couldn’t do the install, wrong paperwork.

It appears that appoitment times do not take into account the 2.5 hours it takes to arrive here by ferry from Shetland Mainland !

They are off to try another house, with also the wrong paperwork I imagine !

I wonder how long to wait for another appoitment. :-)

And how many other folk are not getting the “paperwork done correctly” before the engineer comes out issue.

Now, do I wait for someone to ring me, as folk have told me in the past, but no one ever rings, or should I start ringing them to get a new appoitment ?

How long should I wait to ring to try and get an appoitment, since today is Friday, I don’t imagine anything will happen to get the new paperwork sorted until the end of next week, so best to ring the Monday after next on the 21st Monday April 2025 so as not to risk getting an appoitment with the old paperwork still in place ?

Or just wait for someone to call us ?

 

Morning ​@shetland,

I’m sorry to hear the appointment didn’t go ahead, that’s really frustrating. I’d recommend getting in touch with our Support Team when you can. They’ll need to log this as a complaint, and will need to ensure that the appointment is booked in correctly following the ‘Highlands and Islands’ process, which is different to a standard appointment booking. They should also be able to get the job report, which will give them the info as to why the appointment went wrong. Let us know how you get on - best of luck.

Got an appoitment booked for end of May 2025, tariff quoted details:
 

Standing charge - £0.61p per day

Peak unit rate - 0.29p

Off peak unit rate - £0.20p

I asked:

---
Is that an E7, E8, E9, or E10 tariff as we have storage heaters.
---

Their reply was:
 

---
As you live in a Load Management area the tariff will be a variable tariff that will be specific to where you live so it will not be economy 7 8 9 10
---

I asked:

---
Do you have the times it goes from peak to off peak/etc ?
---

They replied:

---

The times are

00:00-02:00
06:00-08:00
13:00-16:00
21:00-22:00"

---

I asked:

---

When the engineer last came, he had been issued the wrong paperwork, has this been corrected for the next visit ?
---

They said:
 

---
Yes the engineers have now been trained to install in Load Management Areas so there will be no issues and the smart can now be fitted
---

Lets hope the weather / ferries / covid don’t stop the engineer from arriving !
 

Morning ​@shetland,

Thanks for letting us know - I hope the appointment goes ahead smoothly, and we hear good news from you next month!

Cheers,

Ben

​@Ben_OVO  How can you find out if you are in a Load Management Area, currently on THTC in DD2 area

test

Hey ​@janie

There are a few ways that you can check if you live in a Load Management Area. 

1. You can check at https://www.powercut105.com/findoperator and input your postcode into the search form.If your postcode is recorded in the database then this will display the distributors network you are connected to, as well as the single letter ‘Load Block Identifier’
2. You can check on your electricity bill, and look for a single letter on its own, or with text like ‘Postcode area alpha identifier’. It will usually be in the top 1/3rd of your bill and sometimes be enclosed in a box. If you have a combined gas and electricity energy bill then it may be in the electricity breakdown area of your bill and not on the first page.
3. Contact your supplier

You can read more about this here. I hope this helps!

​@Chris_OVO  Thanks, will give it a try later

​@Chris_OVO 

This is what I got, is this a load managed area ?

Nothing at all in my block square !

Last I was told, I was in a load block area.

​@shetland thanks, it was because of your previous post/transcript regarding tariffs that made me wonder, if and when my rts transfer takes place I have been offered economy 10 which according to the transcript you had isn't available in load managed areas so thought I would check it out in advance 

Rota blocks are groups of customers or substations spread all over the country. If the national grid suddenly found itself obliged to restrict the power available to customers, the restriction would be applied according to a rota, evenly spread by time and location, so everyone suffered a bit rather than some suffering a lot and others not at all. So all those in rota block P in the Scottish Hydro area might find themselves without power from 8-11 am tomorrow, while those in block Q were without from 11 am to 2 pm. 

Load management areas (LMAs) are areas where the power distribution network isn’t robust enough to be able always to meet peak demand. The DNO can lay down that some customers in an LMA will get offpeak power for heating between, say, midnight and 3 am while others will get it between 3 and 6 am. While some LMAs have been in place for many years, they can be fluid. If a particular area has a sudden supply failure, the areas round about can be turned into or join an LMA so they’re able to contribute to supplying the area where the fault occurred. LMAs are usually rural.   

I suppose that where the DNO is managing the supply anyway, there’s no need for those in an LMA to be in a specific rota block. 

​@Firedog for info, Shetland's not connected to the national grid - potentially later this year. THTC was originally developed in Orkney and Shetland to manage the peak load demand on the local power stations, Shetland still has a local power station and with 5,000 RTS customers I'd assume the management of peak load is still an important function of THTC, whether the whole isles are classed as an LMA, that I don't know? 

My previous phone call, they told me I could have various different times, and no mention of a load managed area, then the last call, the choice was one schedual and nothing else !

Which one is true, I don’t know, so I’m keen to see how us customers might be able to check ourselves.

My experience with companies has often been, if I ring them 5 times, I get 5 different answers !

The same with doctors. :-)

Trying to figure out which one is right, often means you become enough of an expert in that field as they are !

Though these days, with the likes of AI, I’m increasing asking them these kind of questions.

Hold on, I haven’t asked one yet !

I asked one, but the only new thing it said was:

---

4. Ask the DNO (Distribution Network Operator)

If your supplier isn’t sure, contact your DNO—they manage the physical electricity network in your area and will know if load management is used there.

Use this site to find your DNO by postcode:
https://www.energynetworks.org/operating-the-networks/whos-my-network-operator

---

I think Scotland is maybe these folk:

https://www.ssen.co.uk/

But whether they would actually answer such a question is another matter !

I dunno why they don’t have a public portal where we can just check ourselves.