TPG Telecom wins Yarra Valley Water contract for NB-IoT enabled devices

TPG Telecom has won a 15-year contract with Victoria’s largest water retailer, Yarra Valley Water, to manage up to one million industrial Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

The device management of the fleet of up to one million NB-IoT devices, one of the largest of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, will be deployed across Yarra Valley Water’s 20,000km pipe network. The devices will provide data across a range of use cases, including flow, pressure, and water quality to help improve service reliability, responsiveness, and reduce water wastage.

The win is TPG Telecom’s latest IoT deal using Nokia’s IMPACT IoT device management platform which automates the complete IoT network at scale. This enables Yarra Valley Water to seamlessly onboard and offboard the IoT devices, reduce costs and security risks, and provide the critical monitoring and management tools needed to keep the devices online, up-to-date and optimised for the specific application needs.

TPG Telecom GM of Customer Sales and Strategy, Chris Russo, said, “We are thrilled to bring our IoT experience, commitment and network knowledge to this large-scale project. Vodafone is the global leader in IoT connectivity, with more than 130 million devices connected worldwide and over 20 million of these are in industries using smart metering.

“Our device management platform ensures the millions of data-points across Yarra Valley Water’s IoT network are integrated, supported and streamlined in a way that provides meaningful insights for the business, its customers and the environment at large.”

Yarra Valley Water Managing Director, Pat McCafferty said: “Internet of Things devices present a significant opportunity for the water industry to gain better visibility of asset networks. They will help us to detect leaks and minimise water wastage, which not only safeguards our precious resource but ultimately helps customers save money by reducing their usage.”

The device management platform will include a range of IoT enabled smart devices, including:

• Digital water meters which measure the volume of water consumed and improve the customer experience. These enable Yarra Valley Water to proactively contact customers about wasted water including leaking taps and appliances, and faulty irrigation systems, and identify behavioural change opportunities which can reduce water use and save customers money on their water bills.
• Water pressure sensors which can identify when water is on and off, valves are not returned to the correct position following operational events, and other network deficiencies which may slowly escalate over time.
• Sewer level sensors which measure the level of flow in sewer pipes and manholes and can identify overflows, pipe blockages, and system capacity constraints.

Emergency or planned maintenance jobs can be automated by the platform which improves response times, operational efficiency of the network and data visibility. This reduces Work Health and Safety risk and potential environmental impact as it removes the need to deploy teams for technical site visits.

Yarra Valley Water has over 20,000 km of water and sewer mains which have been difficult to monitor underground, meaning the business often relied on customers to contact them about failures. The new IoT platform enables near real-time visibility and monitoring of significant issues, which can include leaks, water losses, sewer spills and major breaks in the broader pipe network.

Yarra Valley Water expects to rollout up to one million devices across its network over the next 5-10 years.

CT Bureau