Case Study: ElectriCities achieves $300K+ annual savings and improved network reliability with Digi International TransPort LTE routers

LTE Operational Efficiencies Save Thousands for ElectriCities

ElectriCities, which provides management, communications, and emergency/technical services to 90 municipal utilities and about 1.2 million customers across NC, SC and VA, needed a cost-effective, reliable way to collect meter and telemetry data across thousands of square miles. Traditional copper 56k circuits were prohibitively expensive and susceptible to lightning damage, while fiber deployment was too costly and excessive for the sites’ modest bandwidth needs.

ElectriCities deployed Digi TransPort WR31 and WR21 LTE routers to provide secure, multicarrier-capable VPN communications with diverse field devices. The solution delivered more reliable connections and significant savings — over $300,000 annually in telemetry charges — plus roughly $20,000 per site in reduced lightning-strike costs and about $30,000 per site in lower maintenance and troubleshooting expenses, enabling more efficient service to member municipalities.

ElectriCities

John Coates

Ems Application Engineer