Bausch Datacom wins GPRS modem project for electricity company of Bosnia Herzegovina!

The Bausch Datacom InduBox GSM IX modems will be connected through RS-485 to Iskraemeco MT831 meters and can be managed through the Praxis Modem Management System.
The InduBox IX GPRS modems will be delivered to TETA d.o.o. Sarajevo as a subcontractor in december 2013 and january 2014.

Again this is an example of how external GPRS modem communication can execute flawless IP-communication. The rugged industrial modems with high immunity to harsh EMC disturbances combined with the Praxis Modem Management grouping and mass deployment System are a very powerfull tool that focuses exclusively on the well working communication infrastructure.

Bausch Datacom has developed specific modem firmware in OpenAT in the Sierra Wireless SL6087 GSM module. The basic ‘socket server' application allows the modem to be connected by RS-232 or RS-485 to the meter and to communicate by IP number and port number using GPRS. In this way a transparent communication with the host system can be maintained! The modem is default in a GPRS mode but can be switched remotely to GSM data and vice versa.

For mass deployment and management of the InduBox modems, Bausch Datacom developed the Praxis Modem Management System. Praxis consists of 3 system blocks: the Modem Firmware, the Server Software and the Client Software.

The MMS Modem Firmware of the new InduBox GSM IV, VIII and IX modems is an OpenAT application supporting the grouping and mass deployment services offered by the MMS Client and Server software. For example every 15 minutes the InduBox modem will measure the reception level (rssi) of the signal sent by the closest GSM Base Transceiver Station (BTS) as well as the received bit error rate (ber). In fact, the InduBox modem will keep statistics of 'rssi' and 'ber', time of watchdog restart, number and time of switching between CSD and GPRS, settings of the RS-232, RS-485 and config ports (baudrate, parity, stopbits), GPRS settings (APN...), IMEI code etc...These statistics are stored internally in the modem and will be retrieved on a daily base by 'Praxis', the MMS Server software. 

The MMS Server Software will monitor directories for files to import (e.g. from the AMR/MDM system), it will monitor the Database for jobs to be done (entered by the Bausch Client Software), perform scheduled tasks (time-based) and it will get statistics kept by the InduBox modems. The server includes a DataBase to keep all necessary and unique information of each InduBox modem.

The MMS Client Software, running on a Windows PC, provides a GUI wich allows grouping/selecting of modems by telecom operator, operational mode (GSM, GPRS), software version, filtering (based on data in the modem database)...Secondly it provides for scheduled and grouped updating of modem firmware - FOTA over FTP -, switching between different AMR metering scenario's (Socket Server Mode, Socket Client Mode, Socket Dual mode, CSD mode, GPRS mode) and setting of a different baudrate (between modem and meter) or entering another modem configuration (APN name,...). And finally on a daily base it wil get the modem statistics out of the database and export a daily file with signal strength of the modems in the field for use in the AMR/MDM system.