London-based Telit Wireless (News - Alert) Solutions, a machine-to-machine (M2M) wireless module technology provider, has recently expanded its relationship with Beijing Yupont Electric Power Technology Co., Ltd., a smart grid and smart meter innovator in China.

The two companies plan on collaborating on a broader set of automated meter reading and smart grid products, as well as value-added services.

Founded in 1996 in Beijing, Yupont is a high-tech company incubated by the North China Electric Power Research Institute. It is engaged in the development of electric power metering and automated meter reading (AMR) technologies, geographical information systems (GIS), and load control terminal products.

Since 2009, Telit has been a partner to Yupont— creating value by providing expertise and support, from concept development through to manufacturing in the new "smart" space.

Stemming from that collaboration, Beijing Yupont was awarded a $70 million supply contract by the State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC) in November 2011—winning the State Grid’s first open tender for AMR products.

Beijing Yupont’s winning offer comprised two products— the SGC (News - Alert) Concentrator System and the FKGA4X System. The SGC intelligent concentrator is a wireless system that collects data from handheld devices and terminals, enabling managers to detect conditions such as power line losses and faults.

The FKGA4X System integrates modern convergent technologies into the electric energy metering and power marketing segments. It supports GPRS, CDMA, SMS, optical fiber network, and other communications modes.

"The Telit GL868-DUAL embedded in the FKGA4X makes it possible to run Yupont‘s application inside the module, thus making it one of the smallest, most complete platforms for M2M solutions currently in use in China,” said Fu Jinzong, technical director, Beijing Yupont.

"Thanks to Telit, their excellent support and high-quality modules, product development was seamless and agile", added Fu Jinzong. "More and more customers are satisfied with [our] products. All this shows that our cooperation with Telit is our best choice. In the future, we look forward to expanding use of Telit for our new products to provide more applications, together with the development of China's M2M market."

Dominikus Hierl, chief marketing officer at Telit Wireless Solutions, commented, "We look forward to further hastening M2M adoption in China with [our new business unit] m2mAIR and the enhanced module services it provides, which further streamline the large-scale deployments we see starting there now.”