Smart Meters. Are they worth it?

This project is by no means a recent development. The logic of allowing suppliers to install foundation meters was to allow the industry time to determine which meters performed well (in terms of reliability) and which didn't, and to allow them to develop IT systems that could accept smart metering. In parallel, Capita was contracted to set up the Data Communications Company alongside which the industry put together the 800 pages or so of the SMETS2 standard for meters. This got delayed for various reasons (not least cyber security). I agree that it hasn't been a well-managed IT project but history shows that when Govt is involved things invariably go wrong.

Actually this is the main gist of my complaint, the mind boggling ineptitude with consumers cash. I realise that the smart meter roll out has been around for a while, but it still brings me back to my original question. Why not get it right 1st time? Would it not have been sensible to confine the test smart meters to a region to get it right before it going nationwide? Obviously some companies have made a small fortune at our expense. Also thank you for your very concise replies.

Pedro1877 Well they have finally cut my smart energy monitor off, 11 days after my official switch date and rendered it less than dumb, just useless. What a scandal after all those TV ads and all the surrounding hype/BS. What a stupid waste.

My monitor is now displaying "Connecting to smart meter ..." and "Lost network, please contact customer services if problem persists"

I lost information from my SM 4 days after, it has now gone in the bin. I am sure that I will be asked by EDF to have a SM fitted by them? I didn't actually find any real benefit from my SM as I did regularly check my meter readings myself.
I found that BG didn't use the information properly as it dropped my direct debit by £15 after I
changed it upwards to their calculation, they then dropped it back down again. I hadn't realised only when I was checking my bill I saw it, then they decided I wasn't paying enough so they wanted £40 a month more! If they had left my dd at the level I had set it this wouldn't have happened. I now have to check my online account far more regularly than I should have to. I will continue to do the same with EDF.

Does anybody have any accurate knowledge as to why BG HAS to switch the SM monitor/display off? I don't know the ins and outs but I wonder why they can't just turn off receiving my info at THEIR end and leave my monitor running.