Dcc are run by Crapita; therefore no faith in their network whatsoever, or their ability to keep data safe. They have fucked up most of the things they have been involved with.
This is from their business plan;
Supporting Ofgem’s half-hourly settlement
Half-hourly settlement (HHS) is an Ofgem-led programme
aimed at improving the way in which customers are billed
for their energy consumption. Currently consumers
are billed using estimates of their consumption, based
on profiles of average consumers rather than on actual
consumption or export in each half-hour period. HHS will
provide suppliers with the true cost of their customers’
usage in half-hourly periods and incentivise them to take
steps to help their customers move their consumption to
times of the day when electricity is cheaper to generate.
This will build on the platform provided by smart metering
to enable a smarter, more flexible energy system that
lowers bills, reduces carbon emissions and enhances
security of supply. Given DCC’s role in delivering the
data and communications infrastructure to support
the national smart meter rollout, DCC will have a central
role to play in providing the data to underpin the new
HHS process.
It's a con to make more money for the utility companies with surge pricing. It is not safe to go out and leave your machines running (my neighbour's dishwasher went up in flames without warning last week), as has a friends washing machine, so that won't work and people will be running washing machines and dishwashers at more expensive times when they are home from work.
I also found this on the Smart meters website: www.smartme.co.uk/technical.html#gsc.tab=0
My supplier says my signal is too weak?
Smart meters communicate through mobile communications and so the signal strength is an important factor to consider for installation.
For SMETS1 meters the installer will usually test on site and make a decision there and then whether to install. If there is not a sufficient signal they will usually walk away.
For SMETS2 there are more options. The communications are provided by the Data Communications Company (DCC) and suppliers can check that a premises has communications before visiting a site. Once on site they can check with a signal checking device if the signal is strong enough in the meter location. If it isn’t they can fit a number of different aerials to try to boost the signal. If that doesn’t work an external aerial or an alternative mesh communications method is available in some areas. Even then they can leave the meter de-commissioned and ask the DCC to get the communications working. (Updated: 2017-02-01)