Original article ISPreview UK:
Some 46,000 consumers have been given extra time to resolve connectivity problems with their Energy Smart Meters, which were previously at risk of losing 2G based mobile data connectivity to the Data Communications Company‘s (DCC) wide area network on 1st January 2026. But Ofgem has now extended the service coverage until 1st June 2026.
Just to recap. The ongoing efforts to switch off older 2G and 3G based mobile networks across the UK will ultimately cause problems for Smart Meters installed across the rest of England and Wales, which utilise the same technology via O2 (Scotland and the North of England use a different Long-Range Radio [LRR] wireless system from Arqiva). Due to this, Vodafone has already been contracted to help upgrade millions of meters to a new 4G connection (here and here).
NOTE: The government wants all 2G and 3G networks to be switched-off by 2033 (
here), with 3G having already been nearly phased out as it has fewer dependencies than 2G (i.e. lots of low power devices still use 2G and it remains handy as a backup for voice calls / smart meters).
The DCC has already started to deploy the new 4G Communication Hubs (CH / modems) to upgrade existing Smart Meters (requires a quick engineer’s visit) and recently reported having connected their 100,000th unit to the Smart Meter Wide Area Network (SMWAN). But there is one area that this programme has been struggling to tackle.
At present some Smart Energy Code (SEC) parties have installed and are operating CHs “outside their permitted regions“, where Communication Service Providers (CSPs) are “not contractually obliged to provide service“. This issue has become more significant due to an increase in 2G based Out of Region (OOR) CHs being installed in the North region (i.e. where LRR is normally used instead of 2G).
As one such user, Mark, recently explained to ISPreview: “I was notified by my energy supplier two weeks ago that my working smart meter would go dumb on the 31/12/2025 unless the comms hub was changed urgently for a 4G model. I’m on a smart tariff which controls my electric heating, so this was going to be a serious issue if this stopped working in the middle of winter. I have been battling with Octopus since then and have been unable to get an appointment – due to my rural location,” explained Mark.
Mark lives in a rural part of Northumberland (England) and last year had a 2G/3G capable CH fitted to his Smart Meter because the existing LLR network signal was unreliable; the CH has been working fine since then. But as above, Mark needed to get a 4G CH fitted because OOR CHs were due to lose their service connectivity on 1st January 2026.
However, it appears as if those in the same situation as Mark have been given a temporary reprieve, since Ofgem has been working to establish formal agreements to ensure continued service provision for such users (document).
Ofgem Statement
Without such agreements in place, connectivity to the SMWAN for affected OOR CHs is scheduled to be removed on 1 January 2026. This would impact around 46,000 consumers at current levels, including over 16,000 consumers on prepayment and more than 21,000 on the Priority Services Register (PSR), with an estimated 9,000 affected on both prepayment and the PSR. The loss of connectivity could prevent prepayment consumers from topping up their devices remotely, posing a risk of disconnection, particularly during the winter period.
The solution … establishes a formal mechanism to maintain connectivity for CHs operating outside their permitted regions … The new charging mechanism introduced by this modification will charge suppliers for the OOR CHs where they are in that supplier’s portfolio. These charges will apply until the service ends on 1 June 2026. The modification also includes a maximum charge of £500 per OOR CH.
However, if the removal of OOR CH replacements moves at pace and the costs per remaining OOR CH exceeds the maximum charge then any additional cost over this will move to DCC fixed charges which are socialised across all suppliers and network providers. The overall cost of this service is £250,000 per month split across all OOR CHs. As CHs are removed the cost per CH will continue to trend upwards until it reaches the maximum explicit charge of £500 per CH.
Ofgem goes on to state how this change “will likely ensure there is sufficient time for [suppliers] to complete replacements of these CHs ahead of the 1 June 2026 deadline“. Without this modification the affected consumers would have lost connectivity (i.e. no ‘Smart’ features), “forcing suppliers to resort to manual interventions such as site visits, and meter replacements under emergency conditions to ensure consumers remain on supply.”
Meanwhile, for the rest of the UK, the DCC still seems to be working to the general 2G switch-off date of 2033 (due to this, O2 will need to maintain limited 2G connectivity for a bit longer than most), which they previously said would give them and their partners”eight years to ensure connection continuity for around 24 million smart meters – a huge challenge, but one we are confident we will achieve”.
