As part of a plan to improve Internet access, The UK government has launched its first trial to deliver broadband fibre service through drinking water pipes. This is to bring high-speed internet to communities that have difficulty accessing high-speed internet while reducing water waste.
With the growing presence of the Internet in the life of modern man, The world of technology comes out with new innovation every day, Ultra-fast broadband fibers are currently spreading, used to extend broadband Internet services over optical fiber from the local server to the consumer directly without copper telephone lines, This means providing speeds of more than 24 Mbps effortlessly.
In the UK, Broadband coverage has undergone a huge shift in a short period of time, From less than 6% in 2019, jumped to more than 66% after the government eased restrictions and stimulated business investment for companies offering broadband coverage, As part of its endeavor to put this service in the hands of everyone, This is not possible in 88% of its buildings, Especially since the civil works associated with the deployment of technology constitute about 80% of the operational cost incurred by the telecommunications sector to build networks that meet the required specifications.
For people living in remote areas, Getting high-speed internet can be extremely difficult, Besides the high cost of laying cables, No company will find it useful to spend large sums of money to deliver its services to an isolated area with a limited population. Also, the nature of the topography of remote areas may not be suitable for drilling and laying underground cables, which requires the extension of overhead cables and their fixation on the poles, This may be rejected by landowners. Although this is their right, It means depriving them and their communities of high-speed internet.
In Yorkshire, The list of those waiting for broadband fibre service goes on, It includes more than 300,000 homes and businesses, About 57,000 of them are concentrated in the southern part, As the delivery of service to some homes is difficult, Necessitating the excavation of roads, This means obstructing traffic, increasing the cost and harming the environment.
In no case can the authorities dig roads to deliver internet service, Especially since it is unable to do so to approach a much more important issue, Drinking water, 20% of which is wasted as a result of leaks that water companies are unable to put an end to, The technology currently available is not enough to accurately locate and maintain leaks quickly.
to come up with a solution that ends two pressing issues, Yorkshire Water, Arcades Engineering, the University of Strathclyde and other partners have teamed up to launch a project to connect the internet through water pipes.
The project is funded by the UK Treasury’s Mutual Income Fund, which is used to fund pilot projects aimed at launching innovative ways of working in the government sector. The Ministry of Digitalization, Culture, Media and Sport has launched a £4 million open competition to integrate fiber optic technology into water pipes. In partnership with the Ministry of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Ministry of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, With the support of the Prime Minister’s Office. The fund awarded £1.2 million to the winning team to start the design phase of the project. The other two million will be received after the completion of this phase.
The project aims to power broadband fiber optic cables through water pipes along a 17-kilometer stretch between Barnsley and Beninstone. Then, Service providers can benefit from the network.
Before the start of practical application, The first phase of the project will focus on the legal aspect of innovation and its achievement of safety standards, That is, finding safe and secure ways to combine a vital service, such as the delivery of drinking water to the telecommunications service within common extension lines. Before finally adopting the idea, It also had to be approved by the drinking water inspectorate, It conducts rigorous testing before allowing any product or process to enter the national water system.
According to the plan, The network will also be used to create fifth-generation towers for wireless broadband delivery where wired solutions are impossible to implement commercially.
The team also allocated part of the funding to explore the possibility of using fibre to detect leaks by installing sensors that detect any malfunction.
The project will be divided into several phases, starting with the pilot phase, which will last for two years, which, if successful and achieving tangible effects, It can be implemented on networks starting in 2024, and expand it to other parts of the UK, And even to become part of the government’s Gigabit project, which provides broadband service to millions of homes and businesses at a cost of £5 billion.
It is estimated that this experiment in government technology will serve about 8,500 homes and businesses. which will benefit communities and improve their access to the Internet, It mitigates the risk of shutting down the public telephone network between 2021 and 2025.
Besides providing a fast, efficient and environmentally friendly way to deliver broadband service, Partners aim to reduce water waste by half, This means saving costs for customers, improving the efficiency of the water network and reducing its carbon footprint.
References:
https://www.electropages.com/blog/2021/08/want-fibre-go-through-water-pipes
