DS will be showcasing the Powalert sensor at the MyBroadband conference on the 26th October 2017. loT  is  the  incremental next step into the optimised use of technology that was made prevalent by smart phone technology. The cost efficiencies of smart phone technologies have resulted in the  deployment of a number of other generic devices  that  use low powered network connections as an alternative. These are the class of devices  known  as loT, the  Internet of Things, which  were previously not networked.

The PowaiNFRA range is a true loT solution. Powalert is a product in the PoweriNFRA range. This solution expands the digital world to buildings and infrastructure that were previously mostly accessed by requiring physical connections.

The Powalert  sensor, using  loT technology, provides the  ability  to determine power related failures  within  telecommunications. A last mile provider typically has multiple customers  using  leased lines. When  an outage occurs  at the customer premises, the immediate cause is typically related to either  network or power. However, there  is currently  no  out-of-band  verification available  to eliminate either  cause  as it  can potentially be the  power  utility, the  device  or the  interconnecting network that  has failed.

This is obviously a large problem for telecommunications operators as statistics show that 80% of outages  at the  customer  premises are related to power issues. When a utility power outage occurs, the  Network Operations Centre  (NOC) of a telecommunications company can usually  not  determine whether  the  cause of  the outage is network related or as a result of a power  outage. This is because the majority of monitoring systems deployed are unable to  clearly  distinguish between network and power  causation  as there  is no “ping” power  utility command. The problem for operators is that a significant number of rolling wheels call-outs  are redundant.

DS’ patented solution provides the  ability to distinguish power  from  network-based or device  outages. Whilst  the call-out costs associated with this may vary by type  of outage, it contributes significantly to  the  operational budget for  any  organisation monitoring these devices  and subsequently responding to the loss of such a device. This  DS  solution endeavours to  optimise those  associated costs  by  determining whether  the outage is power  related or not.

When the outage is not directly related to a loss of power, during a significant number of the remaining outages, technicians may power-cycle the network equipment in any case to return  service.  These  generally relates  to network hardware   and  software issues. As an example, the equipment from a well-known networking vendor has a bug that  locks up a device  after  213 days. A key feature of the  Powalert  is the  ability to remotely recycle the power  of the  attached network device  in the event  that  it loses connectivity. The Powalert  device  will thus be able to clear these basic faults without the requirement for a remote hands or rolling wheels visit.

The Powalert  device  uses a low powered wide  area network protocol that is secure and  encrypted. This in turn  is relayed  by  a base  station, the  PowaiNFRA  gateway, which in turn is connected to the Vodafone M2M  facility. Alternatively, if required the Powalert device can also connect directly to a Sigfox network base station.

The  DS  solution, as represented in  the  diagram above,  consists  of  a portal that includes a service level manager (SLA) manager. This depicts the SLA uptimes of the utility  and device  power. Additionally, the  usage  in kW/h  is available, as well as the power  quality  and the associated trending.

Increased customer  satisfaction and availability levels are benefits that can be derived from accurate service level reporting. The portal  reports  the monthly SLA percentage uptime to an accuracy of three decimals for both the utility-side power  and the device­ side power. This allows the telecommunications operator to confidently exclude downtime directly attributable to power  outages.

The PowaiNFRA range also has sensors that are capable of monitoring and reporting on:

• power
• temperature,
• fire safety,
• presence/access
• dam levels, as well as
• fibre  optic  cable breaks.

The overall  solution can be  deployed not  only  in telecommunications but  also any commercial facilities, medical facilities and equipment and data centres. loT device  communications are secure  and encrypted and  are designed to transmit between known  identities. These devices  have not  been  designed with  security  as merely  an afterthought. loT devices  are programmed on modern principles where security  is embedded into  the system. loT applications and communications are thus inherently more  secure by design. As a rule, it is not that loT devices  won’t be compromised but  that they are a far less likely target than the current crop of legacy devices  such as wifi access points, surveillance cameras  and televisions. loT devices are thus ready to be deployed securely in multiple use cases, solving specific problems in a cost effective and efficient manner.