Wireless Connectivity Solutions for Water Utilities

August 16th, 2018

Addressing the demands of an ever increasing population, and delivering the quality standards required, is an ongoing challenge for today’s water utilities. These challenges affect all aspects of the operation: processing and delivering freshwater, collecting and treating waste water, or efficiently managing storm water. Data, voice, and video connectivity is needed to unify the entire plant – from metropolitan lift stations, to treatment facilities, to remote reservoirs. Consistently providing safe water requires connecting the people, places and things where and when necessary, with security and confidence.

As automation, remote monitoring, and the use of video surveillance rises, the need for higher capacity data networks is accelerating. The fact that these services are required across the entire operating area magnifies the challenge. Reliance on traditional copper circuits is not an option – the circuits cannot support the required data rates, and service providers are retiring the copper circuits as fast as they can due to maintenance costs. Fiber technology has high installation time and costs. Public networks with 2G, 3G, or even 4G offer some relief, but likely do not provide the necessary coverage and come with administrative burdens and high subscription costs.