Telstra secures largest IoT contract with water utility firm

largest IoT contract

Australian-based operator Telstra said it has won a 15-year contract from Yarra Valley Water to provide one million industrial IoT services on Telstra’s IoT network.

Telstra says this is its largest IoT deal to date and the first large-scale IoT deployment using Telstra’s new cloud-based platform-as-a-service IoT Connection Manager (ICM). Telstra will deploy its ICM platform to enable Yarra Valley Water gain access to near real-time data from a range of in-field sensors.

“Instead of getting four data points a year, our IoT Connection Manager will now allow Yarra Valley Water to get more than 17,000 data points annually for a much more accurate, near real-time, and robust understanding of its water infrastructure,” Telstra’s group owner of industry solutions and IoT Mark Chapman said.

Cellular low power wide area network

The Yarra Valley Water solution leverages Telstra’s cellular low power wide area network (LPWAN), which offers an IoT coverage of around 4 million square kilometers for NB-IoT and over 3 million square kilometers for LTE-M.

Yarra Valley Water Managing Director, Pat McCafferty, said: “Internet of Things devices are a game changer for the water industry. By deploying a range of different sensors into our water and sanitation networks, we can detect leaks, minimise water wastage and save our customers money.”

Telstra said that its IoT network currently has over 4 million connections in the country.

As part of the agreement, Telstra will provide the IoT connectivity and the ICM Platform to enable sensor readings to be collected automatically in near real-time.

This will enable the utility company to prevent leaks from becoming bursts, sewer blockages from becoming spills, and notifying customers about issues on their properties so they can act quickly.

17,000 data points annually

Telstra Group Owner of Industry Solutions and IoT Mark Chapman said: “Instead of getting four data points a year, our IoT Connection Manager will now allow Yarra Valley Water to get more than 17,000 data points annually for a much more accurate, near real-time, and robust understanding of its water infrastructure.”

He added: “This is a great example of how our leading IoT network and platform is helping organizations use connected technology to drive positive customer experiences and help remotely monitor its assets and complex infrastructure.”

Telstra, which had launched 5G in May 2020, is currently using its spectrum in the 3.6 GHz band to provide 5G technology across Australia. Some of the cities in which Telstra offers its 5G service are Canberra, Central Coast, Brisbane, Sidney, Cairns, Gold Coast, Adelaide, Hamilton, Melbourne and Perth.