Utility meter tamper monitoring system and method

A tamper monitoring system comprising:

• a wireless network comprising a plurality of external transceivers as gateways thereof and a plurality of seals associated with each external transceiver,
• wherein the plurality of external transceivers is configured such that individual external transceivers communicate data not only between the plurality of seals associated therewith but also between other external transceivers within a mutual radio transmission range,
• wherein each seal comprises:
• a housing;
• a locking portion configured to securely lock a utility meter through a reception thereof inside the housing;
• and
• a tamper monitoring circuit configured to be activated through at least one of the reception of the locking portion inside the housing and a communication through the external transceiver associated therewith upon secure locking of the utility meter, the tamper monitoring circuit comprising:
• a transceiver configured to wirelessly transmit at least one of an identification data and an integrity information associated with at least one of the security seal and the utility meter associated therewith to the external transceiver associated therewith upon one of activating the tamper monitoring circuit and being queried by the external transceiver associated therewith following the activation of the tamper monitoring circuit,
• wherein the transceiver of the tamper monitoring circuit and the external transceiver associated therewith are configured to securely communicate with one another through a protocol configured to enable the transceiver of the tamper monitoring circuit and the external transceiver associated therewith to one of wait for a period of time when a channel is busy before attempting to transmit through the channel and transmit using another channel when the channel is busy,
• wherein the channel signifies a frequency in a frequency band of communication between the transceiver of the tamper monitoring circuit and the external transceiver associated therewith,
• wherein the tamper monitoring circuit is configured to detect a tamper condition associated with tampering of the security seal, and
• wherein the transceiver of the tamper monitoring circuit is configured to wirelessly transmit data associated with the tamper condition to the external transceiver associated therewith upon one of detecting the tamper condition through the tamper monitoring circuit and being queried by the external transceiver associated therewith.