BT has secured a contract with Northumbrian Water, the providers of reliable and sustainable water, to help deliver a Smart Water project across its North East operating area.

BT is providing the low power network and data which will enable operational insights, allowing the water company to better understand how its water network performs using the Internet of Things (IoT). The Smart Water project aims to provide Northumbrian Water with a wide range of insights to allow the company to address issues such as water leakage, and enhance levels of water quality for its customers.

The Smart Water project will be deployed over three distinct areas of Sunderland. Around 150 sensors will be installed across the network to capture data on a range of factors, including water flow, pressure and quality. By monitoring the performance of the water network, the project will equip Northumbrian Water with the operational insights needed to continue to provide an excellent customer experience.

The data collected by the sensors will be connected to the BT’s LoRaWAN (Low Power, Long Range, Wide Area Network), which is designed to support long-life, battery powered IoT devices over a long distance. This makes it an ideal solution for monitoring performance across Northumbrian Water’s vast water network.

BT’s IoT platform will be used to capture, process and visualise the data received from the sensors. The platform will help to provide Northumbrian Water with the data insights it needs to understand how the water network is functioning, so that it can take proactive steps to reduce water leakage, speed up operational processes and lower its total running and maintenance costs.

Nigel Watson, Group Information Services Director for Northumbrian Water, said: “We’re delighted to be working with BT on this pilot project in Sunderland, which is just another example of how we apply innovation to our everyday work. It represents a real step forwards towards the Smart Water network of the future transforming the level of insight we have into our network’s operations and driving improvements for customers.

“The idea first came out of our Innovation Festival and the innovative technology that BT uses made them a great choice of partner for developing and delivering our Smart Water pilot project. We’re keen to understand whether it can be rolled out across our entire North East network to deliver benefits for all of our customers.”

Chris Sims, Managing Director, Strategy, Marketing and Digital at BT, said: “We are really excited to be deploying our IoT platform and LoRaWAN network to provide the connectivity and insight needed to deliver a truly integrated Smart Water network for Northumbrian Water.

“It’s a great example of how the Internet of Things can be used to deliver a better experience to customers. And with 5G on the horizon, which will provide benefits such as lower latency, higher speeds and greater reliability, we’re thrilled to work with one of the most innovative water companies in the UK to fully realise the transformational benefits of IoT.”

BT is dedicated to bringing innovative IoT solutions to market using its expertise in devices, connectivity and platforms. The Northumbrian Water Smart Water project is one of a number of recent IoT deployments by BT across the Smart Cities, utilities, transport, logistics and retail sectors.