Patent ID: 8203463

Claim:
A meter reading device comprising: a transceiver configured and arranged to transmit and receive radio signals; a processor in electrical communication with the transceiver and configured and arranged to execute processor-executable instructions to control operation of the meter reading device; and a memory in electrical communication with the processor and storing processor-executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to control the operation of the meter reading device to operate in a selected one of: a sleep mode in which the transceiver periodically listens on a licensed channel for a carrier signal, a rouse mode in which the transceiver receives data via the licensed channel, the data comprising a preamble, an address, a command, and plurality of checksum bits, a wake mode in which the meter reading device processes the data received via the licensed channel in the rouse mode, and a reply mode in which the transceiver transmits a reply on an unlicensed channel having a broader bandwidth than the licensed channel, wherein the selected mode in which the meter reading device operates is reconfigurable and the memory stores processor-executable instructions for causing the meter reading device to operate in the wake mode when the address in the data matches an address of the meter reading device and the plurality of checksum bits matches a checksum bit pattern.