The SMETS1 and SMETS2 smart meters that you will be getting soon will have ZigBee.... but secured and tied down so although you will be able to sniff the comms... everything will be encrypted.
...We're far too privacy and security conscious in the UK to allow plaintext personal data go over the airwaves...
Been meaning to look into the smart meters here in the U.K. after having them fitted recently. I had horrible thoughts of it all being clear text, so it's nice to know that no one can snoop on my gas and electric usage. I had assumed they were at least working on the 2.4Ghz frequency as it'd dropped out a few times due to interference with other kit.
All comms are end-to-end encrypted, each meter has unique certifications and keys and the data also tends to be stored encrypted on FLASH.
The certification also requires the standards authorities to view the source and have strict guidelines on security, robustness, sanitisation of data, etc.
> All comms are end-to-end encrypted... The certification also requires ...strict guidelines on security...
So what you're saying is that, in the UK, your water meter and electrical appliances are required to have a higher level of security than your online browsing is allowed to have?
You have to consider tho, that the smart meters don't operate on the public internet, its all on a proprietary WAN (government specified).
There are many, many wacky design decisions regarding the UKs smart metering design but they do at least make an effort regarding security and robustness.
...We're far too privacy and security conscious in the UK to allow plaintext personal data go over the airwaves...