Menu

IoT FEATURE NEWS

Saving Water & Bringing Liquidity to Utilities with Senet and Trimble

By

It is no secret water is fast becoming one of our most critical and endangered natural resources, so today’s announcement from Senet, provider of low-power, wide-area networks (LPWANs) designed specifically for the IoT, and Trimble Water, a technology company specializing in field and office solutions using network management to optimize water, wastewater and storm water utility operations, is significant in that it represents an advancement of sensor-based approaches for the water management industry.

Trimble Water is a division of the company following an acquisition by Trimble of Telog Instruments, Inc. last year. Their technologies integrate positioning, sensors and mapping technologies with software and hardware to automate utility operations, from initial mapping, design, and construction to ongoing field operations.

Their wireless water infrastructure IoT solution has been widely adopted in the U.S., in part due to regulatory requirements and related compliance and reporting challenges. They chose to work with Senet given the rapidly expanding scope of Senet’s Points-of-Presence (PoPs) throughout the U.S., and the architecture of the Senet network, which dramatically reduces battery drain, and therefore maintenance cycles and expenses.

Their story highlights the need for IoT companies to orchestrate growth together, continually improving the performance and economics of large-scale deployments that will grow as the combinations of technologies prove their reliability and value. Without the hardware, software, sensors, network access, transport and management layers required for control and transparency working reliably in massive industrial initiatives (in this case serving utilities serving millions of businesses and consumers), the IoT cannot reach its predicted potential. 

Senet is part of the LoRa Wan Alliance, and has been vocal since its inception regarding the need for ecosystems and standards to be developed and matured in concert.

Trimble is leveraging Senet’s wireless technology to enable water utilities to remotely measure and monitor water, wastewater and groundwater systems including water pressures, flows, levels and rainfall volumes, related to its LoRa-enabled Telog 41 Series of water monitoring sensors.

“Our new range of sensors bring monitoring capabilities including water system pressures, level monitoring to measure levels of water in various resources such as aquifers, reservoirs and towers, flow monitoring, pulse and event monitoring and rainfall monitoring,” Marcus McCarthy, GM of Trimble’s Water Division, explained. “These devices communicate with the Senet network at long distances, and because they also have a very long battery life, make it possible for us to deliver affordable and extremely competitive solutions to our customers.”

“Trimble’s decision to work with Senet highlights how LoRa-enabled LPWAN applications like Trimble’s coupled with a highly scalable and reliable network like Senet’s bring real value to, and open up, new markets for IoT applications globally,” said Will Yapp, Vice President of Business Development for Senet, in a press release issued by the two companies today.

In an extensive report on the future and transformation of the water utility industry in the U.S., Ernst & Young highlighted the need to “strengthen the water innovation ecosystem by establishing industry frameworks for assessing and adopting new technologies. This would involve creating utility consortia to incubate, validate and promote new technologies and would reduce the need for emerging companies to undergo multiple field trials and encourage large utilities to set R&D budgets.”

Will a new IoT ecosystem grow in the water utilities and service provider sectors, triggered by innovations like the one Trimble and Senet are announcing?

E&Y goes on to say, “In the same way that staged clinical trials in the biotech industry allow investors, acquirers and end users to understand risk in that industry, a transparent, generally accepted framework for water technology assessment could help speed innovation adoption in the water sector.”

Such a coordinated industry effort on the technology front, particularly in IoT, could add up to meaningful improvements and contributions to sustainability even the world continues to grapple with record droughts and forecasts of increasingly scarce and expensive water supplies.




Edited by Ken Briodagh
Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. [Free eNews Subscription]
SHARE THIS ARTICLE
Related Articles

Rising Edge Computing Investments to Reach $350B by 2027, According to IDC

By: Alex Passett    3/27/2024

Worldwide spending on edge computing is expected to surge (and then keep going) for the foreseeable future, according to the International Data Corpor…

Read More

ZEDEDA Adds Lisa Edwards as New Board Member, Seeks Opportunities to Strengthen Operations and Scale

By: Alex Passett    3/26/2024

Earlier this morning, ZEDEDA announced the addition of Lisa Edwards to its board of directors.

Read More

An Existing IoT Collab, Emboldened: Digi International and Telit Cinterion Transform Solutions with 5G RedCap Integration

By: Alex Passett    3/25/2024

The ongoing industry collaboration between Digi International and Telit Cinterion signals strong support for the mainstream showcasing of 5G for IoT a…

Read More

Telit Cinterion's 5G LGA Modules, Powered by Snapdragon from Qualcomm, to Create a Big Leap in IoT Connectivity

By: Alex Passett    3/25/2024

Telit Cinterion recently unveiled its FE990B34/40 LGA family of modules, powered by the Snapdragon X72 5G Modem-RF System from Qualcomm Technologies, …

Read More

Embracing Innovation in Mining: The Role of Network-Aware Applications in the Digital Transformation

By: Special Guest    3/21/2024

Shabodi leverages private 5G network capabilities and enables the development of network-aware applications to enhance operational efficiency, automat…

Read More