The Project - Replacement of PSTN and leased lines

Many utility sites in the UK rely upon PSTN and leased lines to communicate to the central SCADA system.  These lines are prone to relatively high levels of failure, and it is often hard to identify exactly where the fault has occurred.  These lines are prohibitively expensive to install, especially in remote locations where utility sites are often found, and leased lines are very expensive to rent.

Mobile communications that save money

Northern Gas Networks had a number of sites which were using leased lines.  By replacing the existing telemetry equipment with DB1 RTUs operating over GPRS, they were able to remove the leased lines.  The savings made on no longer having to rent the line paid for the equipment and installation costs of the new system within two years.

Client Problem

• High costs of existing PSTN and leased lines
• Poor reliability of these lines
• Difficult to track faults

Brightwell Solution

• DB1 RTUs with GPRS comms
• DB1 RTU fully compatible with existing RTU, both physically and functionally
• Much lower rental costs by using GPRS
• Only pay for data transmitted over GPRS network.

Brightwell have a unique understanding of the Gas Distribution Telemetry system and communications market, and they are able to provide innovative and cost beneficial solutions to the changing needs of our company. Expert advice is always available and project deliverables consistently met - a professional and customer focused company. Ian Hawkyard, Northern Gas Networks Ltd