Wi-SUN

Wi-SUN (Wireless Smart Utility Network) is a mesh-based communication technology designed specifically for large-scale smart utility infrastructures.

It provides a resilient, secure, and scalable wireless network that connects thousands of devices — meters, sensors, and gateways — into a unified ecosystem capable of self-healing and automatic rerouting.

For Andrea Informatique, Wi-SUN represents a cornerstone of advanced smart grid communication.

By integrating Wi-SUN into its DLMS/COSEM-compatible stacks and communication modules, Andrea enables utilities to deploy robust, interoperable, and low-latency networks ideally suited for real-time data exchange and dynamic grid management.

Understanding Wi-SUN Technology

Wi-SUN is based on IEEE 802.15.4g/e and IPv6 standards, making it a true open and interoperable communication protocol.

It operates in unlicensed sub-GHz frequency bands (typically 868 MHz or 915 MHz), offering long-range, low-power communication between devices in a mesh topology.

In a Wi-SUN network, each device acts as both a node and a router, relaying data to its neighbors and ensuring that messages always find the most efficient path to the gateway.

This self-forming and self-healing capability makes Wi-SUN particularly well-suited to dense environments such as urban utility networks, where reliability and redundancy are essential.

Wi-SUN supports:

IPv6 networking, ensuring global compatibility and scalability.
Secure device authentication and encryption (AES-128).
Low latency, enabling near real-time data exchange.
Energy-efficient operation, ideal for battery-powered meters and sensors.

By combining these features, Wi-SUN delivers high reliability with minimal infrastructure complexity, creating the foundation for smart city and smart grid applications.

Integration at Andrea Informatique

Andrea Informatique develops and integrates Wi-SUN communication stacks into its smart metering modules and DLMS/COSEM software environments.

This integration ensures smooth communication between meters, concentrators, and Head-End Systems (HES) while maintaining compliance with interoperability standards.

Our Wi-SUN stack is validated through the Phenix automated testing environment, which verifies DLMS/COSEM communication performance and protocol consistency across different vendors.

In the field, Smarthawk allows configuration, topology monitoring, and diagnostics of Wi-SUN devices, while Colibri assists technicians with installation, commissioning, and network troubleshooting.

This holistic ecosystem ensures that Wi-SUN-enabled devices are easy to deploy, maintain, and manage — from laboratory validation to large-scale operation.

Advantages of Wi-SUN for Smart Metering

Wi-SUN brings a unique set of advantages that make it ideal for complex, distributed utility infrastructures:

Mesh architecture that increases coverage and eliminates single points of failure.
Automatic rerouting when nodes go offline, ensuring continuous operation.
Low latency for responsive, real-time data exchange.
Secure communication with mutual authentication and AES encryption.
High scalability, supporting tens of thousands of devices in a single network.

For utilities, Wi-SUN offers a balance between robustness and efficiency, combining the resilience of mesh networks with the openness of IP-based communication.

Use Cases and Deployment Scenarios

Wi-SUN is particularly effective in urban and suburban smart grid deployments that require both reliability and scalability.

Typical applications include:

Electricity smart metering networks in dense cities where PLC performance is limited.
Multi-utility networks where meters and sensors share a common communication layer.
Public lighting and smart city infrastructures, where thousands of nodes must communicate securely and autonomously.
Hybrid architectures integrating Wi-SUN with LTE, NB-IoT, or PLC for full coverage and redundancy.

Andrea supports utilities from network design to deployment, offering simulation tools, topology optimization, and interoperability validation to ensure network efficiency from day one.

Research and Innovation

Andrea Informatique continuously advances its Wi-SUN expertise through dedicated R&D projects.

Our engineers focus on improving network performance, interoperability, and intelligence by exploring:

AI-based network optimization for dynamic path selection.
Integration of Wi-SUN with DLMS/COSEM companion profiles for seamless data management.
Enhanced routing algorithms for lower latency and higher reliability.
Security hardening for future regulatory and cybersecurity requirements.

Andrea also participates in international interoperability workshops and contributes to standardization efforts, ensuring that its solutions evolve in line with the latest Wi-SUN Alliance specifications.

Andrea’s Expertise

With over fifteen years of experience in smart metering communication, Andrea Informatique combines deep protocol knowledge with real-world deployment experience.

Our multidisciplinary team covers the entire technology stack — from physical communication layers to DLMS/COSEM integration and application-level data management.

Andrea’s Phenix test suite, Smarthawk platform, and Colibri mobile application create a comprehensive environment for validating, configuring, and maintaining Wi-SUN-based networks.

This integrated approach guarantees reliability, performance, and long-term support for utilities and meter manufacturers deploying Wi-SUN solutions worldwide.

The Future of Wi-SUN in Smart Utilities

Wi-SUN is emerging as a key enabler of next-generation utility networks, where intelligence and connectivity extend across millions of devices.

Its open, secure, and scalable design aligns perfectly with the evolution of smart grids, IoT ecosystems, and distributed energy systems.

Andrea continues to develop new functionalities around Wi-SUN — including hybrid connectivity with LTE and LoRaWAN, predictive diagnostics, and network self-monitoring — to help utilities move toward fully autonomous communication infrastructures.