The trial also leveraged machine learning to locate the exact point of the vibration and train the system to separate background noise – such as a passing car or underground train – from specific events like a leak.

“Openreach is constantly looking at leveraging new technology and innovation to improve the resilience and efficiency of our network, and by testing the use of fiber sensing technology in this way, we hope to prove that we can do that, for the networks of other utility providers, with the potential to offer this service across the UK,” said Trevor Linney, director of network technology for Openreach.

Enabling early detection

This trial comes at a time when the UK loses about 3 billion liters of treated water every day, representing almost a quarter of the country’s water supply. Likewise, gas utilities continue to contend with leaks and other issues in their networks. 

The goal of the project is to detect problems early to allow early intervention and thereby reduce the disruption of emergency or unplanned street works, which currently cost an estimated $1 billion every year in terms of economic and social impact.

By enabling early detection, water and gas utilities will be able to schedule repair work outside of busy hours or on the weekend.

James Harrison, Director of North London Network at Cadent, the UK's largest gas distribution network, said the potential of being able to access “real-time information coming from our network is really attractive.”

“In a typical year in London, we have over 2,000 events where developers start digging in the wrong place, too close to our network,” he said. “Some of these result in leaks and disruptive repair works. Early detection of these events has an obvious benefit to us – and the other partners.”

Potential to scale

Funded by the Transport for London Lane Rental Scheme, the consortium is conducting a six-month pilot in Hounslow, West London.

As part of the trial, Thames Water worked with Arcadis to explore how the economics of fiber sensing could be brought in line with the requirements for a large-scale deployment.

A key consideration is looking at how multiple utilities could use one sensing network to get real-time data, allowing costs to be shared. More cost savings would come from using Openreach’s existing fiber network, rather than having to install a dedicated sensing fiber network.

The consortium said if the trial is successful, it would look to expand with a London-wide pilot, making London the first city in the world to have effectively an underground early warning radar system.

The extensive coverage of Openreach’s fiber network creates the potential for the fiber sensing technology to be rolled out across the UK to help businesses in other sectors, including water, gas, telecommunications, and electricity.

“Openreach was the obvious choice of telecoms partner for this project,” said Sam Bright, Innovation Manager for Thames Water. “We want to create a model that can be adopted in other UK cities, not just in London. Openreach has the national reach we wanted."

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