Jekyll Electronic Technology has carried out what it believes to be the first successful remote telemetry trials with telephone line-sharing modems. This technology enables data to be transmitted using the telephone network more cheaply than through a new system.
The cost of installing new communications infrastructure prevents wider introduction of automated meter reading (AMR). Jekyll devised line-sharing, in which a PHANTOModem is piggy-backed on an existing telephone line, allowing it to be shared for voice and data communication. Jekyll believes that this will go a long way towards making AMR cost-effective.
