Vodafone makes splash in water industry

  • August 25, 2021
  • Steve Rogerson

Vodafone is using NB-IoT technology to help water companies improve monitoring and detection, increase efficiency, reduce wastage, and meet regulatory requirements.

One of the major challenges for the water industry is the need to prolong the life of legacy monitoring systems installed over the past 30 years, while becoming more efficient and meeting new targets.

After years of market consolidation, data are often trapped on separate systems that do not talk to each other and often have incompatible technical standards. This has resulted in the water industry facing significant overheads and operational inefficiencies due to the increasing cost of managing disparate technologies that are too expensive and disruptive to replace with modern equivalents.

The Vodafone technology provides a single data management platform that integrates old and new sensors in one system to increase operational efficiency. It is device and technology agnostic, so it can bring together any device in a network. This means water companies are not locked into suppliers and can choose the devices that best meet their needs and those of their customers.

Vodafone can provide water companies with every element of an IoT offering, including devices, connectivity, data management and ongoing service:

  • Devices: Vodafone will procure devices and sensors, including smart meters and data loggers, as well as integrate existing devices into a single management platform.
  • Connectivity: NB-IoT coverage now reaches 98% of the UK, where the service is being launched.
  • Data management: There is a single platform that allows the user to manage all devices, both new and legacy, and integrate all data sets. Data from all devices are securely acquired, orchestrated, stored, analysed and visualised.
  • Service: Ongoing advice and collaboration is provided to ensure users get value from their IoT deployment, and the quickest possible return on their investment.

The technology is said to be simple to deploy and manage, allowing water companies to increase the level of surveillance and telemetry on networks to meet regulatory and environmental standards, while ensuring efficiency and reduced wastage.

“There is growing demand on the UK water companies to increase efficiency and reduce wastage,” said Anne Sheehan, business director for Vodafone in the UK. “We’ve worked closely with the water industry to identify a common problem and develop a simple solution. The platform has been designed with simplicity in mind; you do not have to be a connectivity expert to benefit from IoT. We are making it as easy as possible to ensure water companies can benefit from cutting-edge technology and connectivity to meet important regulatory and environmental standards.”

Damian Crawford, head of smart networks and leakage at Stantec, an engineering services company, said: “Vodafone’s smart water proposition is a game-changer for the water industry. While there is ample variety of water network telemetry equipment on the market, Vodafone can be unique in providing the water industry with one full end-to-end secure solution that is device agnostic, removing supplier lock-in and maximising existing assets. Vodafone’s innovation has set a benchmark for the UK water industry, with the aim to deliver excellent service for water companies and their customers.”

The service for the water industry follows the completion of a project to double the number of NB-IoT sites. For those areas that are not covered by the NB- IoT network today, Vodafone will work with users to upgrade and add infrastructure on a case-by-case basis. NB-IoT is designed for use cases that require devices with long-life batteries and in locations that might be difficult for traditional mobile connectivity to reach, such as underground water pipes.

For use cases where weaker signal is sufficient (-128dBm) Vodafone’s NB- IoT network will exceed 98% geographical coverage both indoor and outdoor for the vast majority of regions, and 87% geographical coverage both indoor and outdoor for stronger signal requirements (-118dBm).