NextCentury

What NextCentury does

NextCentury (legal entity: Next Meters) is a Conshohocken, Pennsylvania-based provider of wireless sub-metering and utility-billing technology targeted at the multifamily residential property market, with adjacent applicability to hospitality and commercial properties. The company's product portfolio is a vertically integrated IoT system built around the proprietary NextCentury Connect two-way RF protocol operating on the 902–928 MHz unlicensed band, comprising cloud-connected gateways (GW4 supporting up to 10,000 devices per property, plus GW4-Lite for small properties), repeaters (RE4), transceivers (TR4/TR4-X with 10-year battery life and native Sensus/Neptune/AMCO-Elster/GWF protocol support), ultrasonic and multi-jet water meters (NM4-I, NM5-O, M201 Series), the NR4 universal retrofit register, remote readers (RR4/RR4-TR) with NTEP-certified tenant displays, and the LS4 leak sensor with a 12-year battery life and accessories for inline and out-of-line leak detection. The software layer includes the NextCentury Web Portal (property/portfolio management, custom and scheduled reports, API access), the NCSS Mobile App for field configuration, the My Read App for resident-facing usage display, and integrated alerting and reporting services.

The company monetizes through a mix of one-time hardware sales (gateways, transceivers, meters, leak sensors, accessories) and recurring monthly subscriptions spanning the Leak Monitoring Service, managed cellular data plans for gateways, and the My Read App. Distribution is direct to property managers, billing companies, and property owners, supplemented by a distributor network for hardware; a NextCentury Certification program trains installers and system administrators, and the company maintains an open API plus FTP/SFTP scheduled-report delivery for billing-company integrations. The company is privately held, was founded in 2012, and has received growth capital from Kayne Anderson Growth Capital; it holds NTEP, FCC, ISED, NSF-61/ANSI-372, and UL 2043 certifications on its hardware and operates in the United States, Canada, and (per recent UAE registration) the United Arab Emirates.

Name

NextCentury

Legal name

Next Meters

Website

https://support.nextcenturymeters.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

NextCentury (Next Meters) is a Pennsylvania-based provider of wireless sub-metering and utility-billing IoT systems, including gateways, transceivers, water meters, remote readers, and leak sensors, serving multifamily property managers, billing companies, and property owners across North America.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wireless Submetering Hardware and Utility Management

NAICS

Totalizing Fluid Meter and Counting Device Manufacturing (334514), Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing (3345)

SIC

Totalizing Fluid Meters & Counting Devices (3824)

akta.pro primary industry

Submetering & Multi-Unit Property Billing (MUDs, submeters, RUBS, landlord/tenant billing) (EUANAIAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Metering Hardware & Field Services (AMI/AMR meters, endpoints, installation, maintenance) (EUANAIAA)

Keywords

• Wireless submetering systems
• Utility billing technology
• IoT water metering
• Leak detection sensors
• Multifamily property metering

Headquarters

HQ city

Conshohocken

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Sub-metering Hardware: Sale of metering equipment including gateways, repeaters, transceivers, water meters (NM4-I, NM5-O, M201 Series), remote readers, leak sensors, and accessories. Hardware is sold as one-time purchase with various models for indoor/outdoor use.
2. Leak Monitoring Service Subscription: Monthly subscription service providing leak detection monitoring, phone/text/email alerts, property portal dashboard access, and service level agreement. Simple no-contract monthly subscription model.
3. Cellular Data Plans: Managed cellular service for gateway connectivity using integrated 5G/LTE modems. Flat rate charged monthly when cellular connection is enabled, with automatic billing on the 1st of each month.
4. My Read App Service: Monthly subscription service enabling residents to view water usage information through a web-based application displayed on tablets in common areas.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

NextCentury (operating as Next Meters) designs, manufactures, and sells a wireless submetering and utility-billing ecosystem for multifamily, hospitality, and commercial properties. The portfolio includes gateways, RF repeaters, transceivers, ultrasonic and multi-jet water meters, remote readers, retrofit registers, leak sensors and accessories, paired with a cloud-based web portal, mobile applications, and subscription-based monitoring and resident-facing services.

Product overview

NextCentury (operating as Next Meters) offers a comprehensive wireless sub-metering ecosystem for residential and commercial properties. The portfolio consists of hardware devices — including gateways (GW4, GW301, GW201), repeaters (RE4, RE201), transceivers (TR4, TR4-X, TR201), water meters (NM4-I NextMeter, NM5-O, M201 Series), remote readers (RR4-TR, RR4, RR301-TR, RR301), the NR4 NextRegister universal retrofit register, and the LS4 Leak Sensor — all wirelessly connected through NextCentury Connect technology to cloud-connected gateways. The software layer includes the NextCentury Web Portal for property and portfolio management, the NCSS Mobile App for field configuration and walk-by reading, the My Read App for resident-facing usage display, and integrated reporting and alerting services. Core add-on services include the Leak Monitoring Service (with inline Mini Turbines and out-of-line Water Detection Cables), scheduled automated reports via email or FTP/SFTP, and equipment health/security alerts. The platform is designed for utility sub-metering, leak detection, and resident billing across multifamily, hospitality, and commercial properties.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• GW4 Gateway A 5G/LTE cellular, Ethernet, or Wi-Fi gateway that collects meter and sensor readings and forwards them to the NextCentury cloud for property managers, billing companies, and property owners running large submetering deployments.
• RE4 Repeater An RF repeater that extends the NextCentury wireless submetering network for large properties by relaying transceiver signals back to the gateway.
• TR4 Transceiver An indoor wireless transceiver that connects encoded or pulse water meters to the NextCentury gateway, supporting broad meter-protocol compatibility for multifamily submetering.
• TR4-X Outdoor Transceiver A waterproof outdoor wireless transceiver that connects encoded or pulse meters in pits and other exposed locations to the NextCentury cloud platform.
• RR4-TR Remote Reader An NTEP-certified remote reader with LCD display for one or two utility meters (water, electric, gas, thermal) that transmits readings wirelessly to the NextCentury cloud for tenant and property billing.
• RR4 Remote Reader A remote reader for one or two utility meters that uses encoded or pulse outputs and the NextCentury wireless network to deliver tenant-visible consumption data.
• NM4-I NextMeter (Indoor) An indoor ultrasonic water meter with built-in NextCentury wireless connectivity, designed for high-accuracy submetering of multifamily residential units.
• NM5-O NextMeter (Outdoor) An outdoor ultrasonic water meter with built-in wireless connectivity for submetering applications in outdoor or pit environments.
• M201 Series Water Meters A multi-jet mechanical water meter product line for trade-approved submetering with NTEP and ANSI/NSF certifications for potable-water applications.
• NR4 NextRegister A universal retrofit register that upgrades existing water meters into smart meters by reading magnetic signatures, supporting Bluetooth walk-by reading and wireless encoded output.
• LS4 Leak Sensor A wireless leak sensor with flow analysis and multi-channel alerts that detects both inline leaks (toilets) and out-of-line leaks (water detection cables) for property owners and hotel operators.
• NCSS Mobile App A native iOS/Android mobile app used by field installers and property staff to configure, program, install, and verify NextCentury devices via Bluetooth Direct Connect or cloud configuration.
• NextCentury Web Portal A cloud-based management platform that lets property managers and billing companies configure devices, monitor utility usage, run reports, configure alerts, and access open API interval data.
• Leak Monitoring Service A monthly subscription service that turns LS4 Leak Sensors into a managed leak-detection solution with multi-channel alerts, dashboard monitoring, and an SLA.
• My Read App A web-based resident-facing application that displays water usage and reads on a common-area tablet, enabling properties to meet secondary meter indicator requirements without per-unit remote readers.
• Battery Replacement Kits Field-replaceable battery kits that allow properties to extend the operational life of NextCentury transceivers, remote readers, and leak sensors without replacing the device.

Quantifiable outcome

• Even a medium toilet leak can add more than $1,100 per year to utility bills (per EPA reference)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

AI capability2 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• MeterLogixcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 October 2025NextCentury partnered with MeterLogix to develop a new generation sub-metering technology platform. MeterLogix announced retirement of its legacy point-of-use sub-metering system and launch of the new platform developed with NextCentury. The new system features extended battery life, detailed monitoring, data storage, and improved installation and alerts. Legacy system support ends after January 1, 2026.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Kamstrup: Kamstrup is a European smart-metering specialist for electricity, heat, water, and gas, providing a comparable cloud-connected metering platform for utilities and property managers.
• Landis+Gyr: Landis+Gyr is a global smart-metering and grid-management incumbent whose advanced metering infrastructure offerings overlap with NextCentury's wireless, cloud-connected metering approach at much larger scale.
• Badger Meter: Badger Meter is a leading manufacturer of flow measurement and water-quality products, including smart water meters for utilities and submetering, competing at the meter-hardware layer with NextCentury's NM-series and M201 meters.
• Sensus (Xylem): Sensus, now part of Xylem, supplies smart meters and AMI communications for water, gas, and electric utilities and is the source of one of the encoded protocols NextCentury TR4 transceivers natively support, making it a relevant incumbent peer.
• Itron: Itron is a global AMI and smart-infrastructure incumbent whose metering and communications portfolio overlaps with NextCentury's wireless submetering stack, but with much broader utility-scale deployments and resources.
• Mueller Systems: Mueller Systems (a Mueller Water Products business) provides smart water meters, AMI, and meter-reading technology for utilities, making it a relevant incumbent peer in the broader water-metering category.
• Aclara (Hubbell): Aclara, part of Hubbell, offers AMI, smart sensors, and consumer engagement solutions to electric, gas, and water utilities — an incumbent peer whose networked metering platform competes with NextCentury's wireless submetering stack.

Direct peers

• H2O Degree: H2O Degree is a direct submetering competitor focused on multifamily and commercial water submetering with wireless endpoints and cloud-based billing — closely overlapping NextCentury's customer segments and product positioning.
• Aqua Logic: Aqua Logic designs and manufactures submetering systems for multifamily, student housing, and military housing, making it a directly comparable submetering hardware and tenant-billing provider.

Emerging players

• Conservice: Conservice is a leading utility-billing and submetering-services provider for the multifamily real estate industry. While primarily a billing-software and services company rather than a meter manufacturer, it is a relevant adjacent peer targeting the same property managers and billing-company buyers NextCentury sells to.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance18 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about NextCentury