Paul Cooper MD Alt HAN Co
Alt HAN Newsletter Winter/Spring 2026
A message from Paul Cooper
Welcome to the Winter/Spring 2026 edition of the Alt HAN newsletter.
Our mission at Alt HAN is to deliver products and services that extend the range of the Home Area Network and integrate seamlessly into the smart meter rollout plans of energy suppliers. Our technology is key to ensuring that no customers are left behind in the transition to smart energy – and helping to complete the smart rollout by 2030.
15,000 and counting..
As we reach the end of the first quarter of 2026 it is encouraging to report the continued, sustained growth in the number of energy consumers who are benefiting directly from the Alt HAN solutions. The monthly number of smart installs completed by energy suppliers using Alt HAN devices is now around 1,500 and total installs completed are now above 15,000.
Three large energy suppliers have made Alt HAN devices part of the standard toolkit for their teams of meter installers, and we are working closely with our other energy suppliers members to further extend the availability of Alt HAN to customers who need it. The feedback we receive from installing energy suppliers and the data we track on performance of devices once installed continues to be strong.
We are also seeing sustained growth in the number of meter rooms in buildings that we are turning “smart ready” through our Crowded Meter Room service. This innovative model of collaboration uses Alt HAN to create space for smart in meter rooms, to benefit all building residents regardless of who they are supplied by. Working with our partner Meter Equipment Managers, IMServ and SMS, we have now resolved over 150 meter rooms, and many more resolutions are in the pipeline.
Finally, we continue to test and challenge ourselves to make deployment of Alt HAN as seamless and integrated as possible for energy suppliers. To this end, this quarter we have progressed work to enable Alt HAN for installs where a smart gas meter is installed before a smart electricity meter, and testing how our devices work with and support the planned “Virtual WAN” solution for smart installs in areas where the Wide Area Network signal is weak. Both strands of work showcasing how we contribute to not leaving any customer behind in the transition to smart.
Position Today
Figures as of 17th March 2026
1
Smart installs using Alt HAN devices
1
Alt HAN smart Installs so far in 2026
1
Meter rooms made smart ready by Alt HAN
1
Meter room resolutions designed
An Alt HAN installation close to home
It is hugely rewarding for all of us at Alt HAN to see increasing numbers of energy consumers benefiting directly from our technology. And in February we saw one of our own join the ranks of those consumers.
Laura Williams, an Operations Coordinator in the Crowded Meter Room team, was on hand for the successful installation of her Alt HAN-enabled smart meter at her home in London.
Laura: “I’m delighted to finally get my smart meter installed and working, and it’s great to see the benefits of Alt HAN in my own home. I’m also spreading the word through my residents association so that others who have suppliers that offer Alt HAN can benefit too.”
Louise Dickinson, Head of Smart Strategy and Policy at Laura’s energy supplier, British Gas, said “Alt Han continues to be an incredibly important technology for customers where their smart meter connectivity needs a little help. This ensures that all customers can fully realise their advantages — as well as supporting the transition to renewable energy.”
Laura’s Alt HAN Bridge 1: ‘green for go’
Expanding the reach of Alt HAN
Our mission at Alt HAN is for our solutions to integrate seamlessly into the smart rollout plans of energy suppliers. This means that we need to keep up with developments in technology and be agile to how energy suppliers might want to deploy the Alt HAN solutions.
Over recent months we have been engaging actively with energy suppliers and wider industry stakeholders in two specific areas. For most installs, the Alt HAN devices are installed and commissioned at the same time as the smart electricity meter. But where a customer has different suppliers for gas and electricity, the customer might ask for the gas smart meter first. There is already a tried and tested installation approach, and in recent months we have been working hard to test and validate how Alt HAN can be integrated into these arrangements – removing another small potential barrier to customers getting the full benefits of smart.
We have also been working closely to test and validate how Alt HAN integrates and complements a new service being rolled out in 2026 to allow more customers to join the smart metering Wide Area Network. “Virtual WAN” is enabled by the next generation 4G smart meter communications hubs and uses a customer’s home wifi to establish connectivity to the smart meter communications network. Our primary role is to confirm that the Alt HAN devices work seamlessly with Virtual WAN. However, in addition we are also testing whether Alt HAN devices offer a solution where there is no internet and no 4G signal near the meter.
Getting to know…
Saj Damania, HR Manager
As Alt HAN’s HR Manager I take the lead on all the processes and policies that enable Alt HAN to attract the right people, and sustain a working environment that enables all of our people to contribute, develop and thrive. I love being involved in all aspects and being able to put my stamp on things – recruitment, our policies to support staff welfare, finding new systems and partners to work with, all the way through to how we brand ourselves. It’s hands-on, and every day is different.
Alt HAN’s culture is a huge positive for me. I have been at Alt HAN for 4 year now, and am proud to have played my part in creating and sustaining a positive, inclusive culture. I have been in HR for most of my career – after quickly realising a life in lease financing was not for me! – and have first-hand experience of poor working cultures and the damage that they can do. It’s great to be part of a team now that lives its values and does things the right way.
Outside of work, I focus of staying fit and healthy and eating well – and enjoying the company of friends and family. I’ve also surprised myself with a new-found love of cooking, no doubt picked up from my mum. Like any good HR professional would say, it’s never too late to learn new skills!
Organisational news
We believe in a strong, inclusive culture at Alt HAN. Our mantra of people, passion, pride runs through everything we do. And speaking of running, it’s not just the delivery of Alt HAN services for energy suppliers and consumers where we have been putting in the “hard yards”.
CMR Operations Coordinator, Stephanie Bottin, has been training throughout the long winter months for her first marathon, the London Marathon in April. Steph is running to raise funds for the British Heart Foundation, the UK’s leading independent funder of research into heart disease. With her Dad having successfully undergone heart surgery ten years ago, this cause means a lot her personally. Good luck, Steph!
Show your support here: British Heart Foundation: Steph’s page
