A stable supply of renewable energy requires careful management of water resources.
Over the past two decades or so, modern communication networks have transformed society, smart phones, the Internet, and the vast array of services and applications they support have changed our lives in dramatic ways, often for the better. The potential of these same technologies to enhance water management processes is enormous. ICT platforms can bring tremendous intelligence to water distribution systems, hydropower generation, and both stormwater and wastewater infrastructure.
Of course, consumer-oriented networks, devices and services will not provide the answer to these challenges. Instead, mission-critical networks based on Internet protocol (IP) and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies are beginning to drive the digital transformation of a whole range of industries by helping to streamline operations, increase efficiency and optimize cost.
In fact, a particular set of IP-based technologies — specifically Internet Protocol/Multi-protocol Label Switching (IP/MPLS) and packet microwave, have emerged as attractive options to replace aging, increasingly obsolete time-division multiplexing (TDM)-based systems. Designed with utilities’ operational needs in mind, modern packet-based communications networks can meet the most stringent requirements for reliability, resiliency and security — necessities for networks on which entire regions depend.
Perhaps most importantly, these networks can support multiple services at once, including traditional operational applications such as Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) — which is certain to play a role in utility operations for years to come — as well as newer, bandwidth-hungry services like real-time video, which can be used for surveillance and monitoring of remote locations. These multi-service networks can deliver each according to their individual requirements in terms of throughput and other performance measures. In the past, such services were delivered using dedicated networks for each application, which is both costly and inefficient by modern standards. Better yet, utility-run networks of this type can be used to support operations for multiple departments — again, maximizing their IT investment.