Telefónica Vivo Secures One of the World’s Largest IoT Water‑Metering Contracts in Brazil

Telefónica’s Brazilian unit, Vivo, has won a 3.8 billion‑real (US $693 million) contract with Sabesp, São Paulo’s state water and sewage utility, to modernize and manage up to 4.4 million water meters using NB‑IoT technology by 2029. The system, considered the world’s largest in the water‑utility IoT sector, will enable full city coverage across São Paulo and São José dos Campos, allowing real‑time consumption readings, leak detection and billing integration via Sabesp’s digital platforms. 

The initiative includes deployment of connectivity, automation and smart‑meter hardware, positioning São Paulo as the first major city to achieve 100 % smart metering, according to Vivo. With this win, Telefónica Vivo reinforces its strategy to scale B2B and IoT services. Sabesp, privatized in July 2024, serves around 28 million users across 377 municipalities, making it the largest water company in Latin America. 

Vendors involved in earlier phases of Sabesp’s smart‑meter evolution include the Metrolink consortium (Laager Tecnologias Sustentáveis and Vita Ambiental) and network operator WND Brazil/Sigfox infrastructure for connectivity, which previously enabled deployment of some 100,000 smart meters across São Paulo