Netmore Won Empresa Smart del Año Award
The IoT network operator was recognized for its water-sector connectivity and Metering-as-a-Service model.
Updated on Oct. 1, 2026 in Telecommunications
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Netmore received the Empresa Smart del Año award at the Premios iAgua, marking industry recognition for its infrastructure investment in the water cycle. The operator currently manages over eighteen million IoT devices across more than fifty countries.
Why it matters
The award highlights the industry's shift toward specialized connectivity services that allow utility companies to transition from capital-intensive equipment ownership to flexible operating models. This transition is accelerating as operators integrate specialized remote-reading capabilities through rapid consolidation.
Netmore now services over 1.3 million water meters for Yorkshire Water and manages a fleet of 500,000 meters across Spain, Italy, France, and Greece through its Arson Metering division. The company has finalized four corporate acquisitions in eighteen months to scale this infrastructure.
The players
Netmore
A LoRaWAN network operator providing IoT infrastructure across over fifty countries.
Arson Metering
A Bilbao-based specialist in remote meter reading acquired by Netmore.
Yorkshire Water
A UK-based utility provider utilizing 1.3 million smart meters managed by Netmore.
Talis Talor
The representative who accepted the Premios iAgua award on behalf of Netmore.
The details
Netmore operates as a LoRaWAN—a low-power, wide-area network protocol designed for long-range communication between battery-operated sensors—provider. By deploying a Metering-as-a-Service model, the firm shifts the financial burden of connectivity from capital expenditure (the upfront purchase of infrastructure) to operating expenditure (subscription-based costs for network and data access). This enables utility providers to integrate remote-reading capabilities without the need for significant initial hardware investment.
Timeline
2020: The award category was first established.
September 29 - October 1, 2026: The Spain Smart Water Summit took place in Madrid.
October 1, 2026: The award announcement was finalized.
The Tech Race
Netmore's acquisition strategy, involving four firms in eighteen months, positions the company as a consolidator in the fragmenting smart utility market. This rapid growth follows the trajectory established by the Premios iAgua awards, which have prioritized firms investing in the digitalization of the global water cycle since 2020.
For utility customers, this shift means that remote meter reading becomes more feasible, potentially eliminating the need for manual site visits to record consumption. Municipalities and water providers are the primary beneficiaries of this service model, which reduces the barriers to upgrading legacy water infrastructure.
The takeaway
The move toward Metering-as-a-Service indicates that connectivity is becoming a standard operational utility rather than a luxury hardware add-on. Watch for the 2027 Premios iAgua outcomes to see if Netmore's consolidated infrastructure model maintains its performance lead over local competitors.
Further reading
For more on the infrastructure supporting smart utilities, see our coverage of Telecommunications.
Source note: This article includes information reported by AFP.
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