A regional Spanish government tasked Telefonica with a major overhaul of water metering systems, employing the operator’s NB-IoT network to connect 175,000 smart gauges to uncork a host of operational and management upgrades.

The operator is also tasked with installing the smart meters in the Castile and Leon region in northwest Spain. The upgrade covers real-time data collection along with remote management and monitoring of consumption in domestic and industrial settings.

Telefonica branded the scheme a “step towards data-driven prediction models”.

The project is being handled by the region’s Public Infrastructure and Environment company and involves Telefonica providing a platform to analyse meter data, a move expected to boost service accuracy across gauges from multiple manufacturers.

Telefonica Tech director of IoT Dario Cesena said it is providing “more and better services to customers” by combining its NB-IoT network with managed services.

The company explained the smart meters gather data hourly, boosting detection of abnormal consumption, operational efficiency and service planning.

Security is a high priority in the communications network and management platform: Telefonica highlighted compliance with “the standards required for critical government services”.

It added the smart meter programme contributes to the digital development of the Castille and Leon region.

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BT Group embarked on a mission to improve critical communications, launching a portfolio of services to boost resilience by providing prioritised access to 4G and 5G networks through its EE unit.

Mission Boost spearheads a namesake range combining BT’s mobile and cloud infrastructure, and security capabilities with services from a host of partners. The system puts essential communications first during periods of network congestion or high demand.

Partnerships position the set-up for use by organisations involved in key national infrastructure, emergency response and transport.

BT plans to evolve its range to include contact management capabilities and PTT. It positioned the move as part of a $40 billion investment in digital infrastructure spanning the decade to 2030.

Faisal Mahomed, MD of Critical Communications, said the Mission portfolio is BT’s response to the “increasingly complex environments” organisations find themselves operating in.

Electricity provider UK Power Networks is among the first companies adopting BT’s system: its director of Asset Management Kieran Coughlan said reliable connectivity is now essential to the running of its network, highlighting capabilities including the capacity to remain connected to staff in the field and tools to help turn the lights back on during power outages.

Operators are increasingly looking to reposition themselves as trusted central players in digital sectors by combining their infrastructure with third-party services.

Orange Business and Telefonica are among those to recently make comparable moves.

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