An interview with Ashish Sahay, Sales Director & Country Manager, India Wirepas
With over 5 million smart meters powered in India, Wirepas is redefining IoT connectivity with its decentralized, infrastructure-light mesh technology. Built for scale, resilience, and cost-efficiency, Wirepas Mesh is enabling India's energy, infrastructure, and smart city sectors to adopt IoT at unprecedented levels. In this interview, we explore how Wirepas is driving digital transformation across India's most complex and high-density environments.
1. With over 5 million smart meters powered by Wirepas in India, how do you see the role of IoT connectivity evolving in India's energy management sector over the next 3-5 years?
India's energy sector is moving rapidly toward digital transformation. In the next 3-5 years, we expect IoT connectivity to become foundational for real-time grid monitoring, predictive maintenance, and reduction in commercial losses. The evolution will also be driven by scale: India needs solutions that work reliably in dense, diverse, and infrastructure-light environments. Our connectivity, called Wirepas Mesh, is uniquely suited to meet these demands while reducing dependency on cellular networks.
2. Wirepas is a pioneer in ultra-reliable connectivity. From a business standpoint, how does this open new opportunities for industries and infrastructure projects in India?
Wirepas Mesh brings massive-scale, ultra-reliable, and cost-effective connectivity without relying on traditional telecom infrastructure. This opens doors for industries with tough environments and limited network availability, such as utilities, manufacturing, and buildings. Businesses gain the flexibility to deploy IoT at scale with lower total cost of ownership and full control of their networks.
3. Mumbai and other metros are investing heavily in smart city initiatives. What specific advantages does Wirepas' technology bring to large-scale urban projects and smart infrastructure rollouts?
Unlike most technologies, Wirepas connectivity is built from the ground up to meet the demands of massive, dense commercial and industrial applications. It enables millions of devices to connect in a single RF mesh network capable of connecting thousands of nodes in just one cubic meter with no congestion issues. Our infrastructure-light approach eliminates the need for extensive cabling or cellular coverage, making it ideal for retrofitting aging infrastructure. It's perfectly suited for smart lighting, metering, and building automation.
4. India's utilities and infrastructure sectors are traditionally price-sensitive and complex. How does Wirepas tailor its technology to meet both the scalability and cost-efficiency demands of the Indian market?
Wirepas Mesh offers the lowest total cost of ownership in the market with no airtime subscriptions, SIM cards, or cellular patent fees and minimal infrastructure or maintenance requirements. After power outages, our networks automatically reform in a fraction of the time required for other radio technologies. Wirepas is built for scale, with our largest live deployment exceeding one million smart electricity meters in a single network.
5. As demand for smart building solutions rises, what sectors or industries do you see as the fastest adopters of Wirepas technology in India?
In India, our primary focus is on smart electricity meters. However, globally, Wirepas technology has already been widely adopted across various sectors, with over 10 million devices connected. Emergency lighting, self-storage, asset tracking, and smart buildings are among the fastest-growing use cases. These environments demand scalable, retrofit-friendly solutions that improve security, access, and automation. With Wirepas, companies can deploy at scale without relying on heavy infrastructure, Wi-Fi, or cellular networks.
6. Could you share insights into Wirepas' partnerships and collaborations in India? How critical are local collaborations in scaling your solutions across diverse environments?
Local partnerships are central to our model. In India, we collaborate with OEMs, system integrators, and solution providers who understand regional nuances and can deliver tailored, market-fit solutions. These partnerships enable Wirepas to scale effectively while staying deeply relevant to local needs.
7. Beyond energy metering, what are the key industry verticals where Wirepas sees strong growth potential in India and broader Asia?
Beyond energy metering, Wirepas sees strong growth potential in sectors like emergency lighting, asset tracking, smart storage, and building automation - especially those requiring scalable, infrastructure-light solutions. These industries are rapidly adopting technologies that can be deployed flexibly and at scale without dependence on cellular or Wi-Fi networks. In India and across Asia, we expect smart buildings and industrial IoT to be key drivers, as they demand secure, retrofit-ready connectivity that enhances automation and operational efficiency.
8. Given Mumbai's unique challenges - such as high density, ageing infrastructure, and growing urbanization - how does Wirepas' decentralized network architecture offer a business edge compared to traditional connectivity solutions?
Traditional connectivity often struggles in dense, concrete-heavy environments with poor signal propagation. Wirepas' decentralized mesh adapts dynamically, finding optimal routes and avoiding single points of failure. There's no need for a central controller or even network planning. This makes deployments faster, more resilient, and cost-effective, critical advantages in places like Mumbai.
9. How is Wirepas aligning with India's broader goals around sustainability, digital infrastructure, and smart manufacturing under initiatives like âDigital India' and âMake in India'?
Our technology aligns closely with these national priorities. Wirepas enables energy-efficient, low-maintenance, and locally controllable networks. By working with Indian OEMs and solution providers, we support the âMake in India' initiative. And by enabling cost-effective digital infrastructure, especially in underserved areas, we contribute to the broader goals of âDigital India.' Our connectivity technology provides the catalyst for Indian companies to innovate, to find ingenious IoT use cases and discover new business models.
10. As Wirepas expands its footprint in India and Asia, what are your strategic priorities for the next phase of growth in this region?
Our focus is on deepening industry partnerships and supporting our ecosystem with tailored solutions. We aim to grow our local footprint while maintaining flexibility, reliability, and cost-efficiency.
