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interference free manner. Some of the projects/initiatives that JRC are involved with include: Black start telecommuni- cations work stream JRC is coordinating repre- sentatives from the electricity transmission and distribution operators on behalf of the Black Start Task Group, chaired by BEIS, to establish the resilience of the operational telecommuni- cations capability that is critical to ensuring the electricity grid can be brought back into service in the event of a 'black start' outage. Ultimately, a failure of the whole electricity system – a black start – would be cataclys- mic for industry, commerce and the general population, espe- cially vulnerable individuals. Open Networks Project JRC is collaborating with the network operators within the 'Open Networks Project 2 ' to establish the role of telecommu- nications capability in enabling the future industry operating models being considered. Next generation wireless telecoms for utilities JRC is collaborating with a UK DNO to develop the capability to design and deploy advanced, higher bandwidth radio networks to facilitate Active Network Management function- ality and enhanced visibility and control over distributed generation. Enhanced spectrum access Utilities already have extensive and varied radio networks connecting thousands of monitoring and control points. However, these systems need to be expanded and enhanced to manage the increasingly diverse and dynamic electricity net- works, and legacy technology must be refreshed. More intel- ligent networks will be able to prevent some outages; but when they do happen, advanced tel- ecommunications help restore supplies more quickly. For radio technologies, long term access to su" cient and suitable radio spectrum is essential before a network can be built. With access to su" cient and suitable spectrum on a timely basis, utilities will be able to manage the volumes of data generated by the electricity network operators. Security of access to radio spectrum is critical to today's energy networks and even more important for tomorrow's smart grid: resilient wireless telecom- munications are essential to avoid a 'black start' event. References: 1. Western Power Distribution's, Distribution System Operability Framework, September 2017, pg. 15. 2. Open Networks Project, http://www.energynetworks. org/electricity/futures/open-net- works-project/open-networks- project-overview/ NETWORK / 34 / SEPTEMBER 2018 TELECOMMUNICATIONS Utilities have long used a cycle-based maintenance approach to asset management, including activities such as inspections, refurbishments and replacements. Ageing infrastructure is a problem for most utilities and understanding where to spend capital and maintenance budgets is an art rather than a science. Utilities can change this and optimise their spending by building data science into their asset management strategies. Data as an asset Today, utilities collect data on many assets, including nameplates, inspection reports, lab results, and sensors. Most assets have some information that can be used for asset management, but it sits in many different systems. The good news is that the data exists and is itself a valuable asset. To extract this value, utilities need to trade spreadsheets for analytics. Condition-based maintenance Many utilities are moving to a condition-based maintenance approach to asset management. This approach focuses maintenance efforts on assets at high risk of failure. Regulators will soon require utilities to conduct more condition-based maintenance. Running to failure is no longer acceptable. Predictive and prescriptive asset management Leading utilities want to use predictive maintenance to take asset management to the next level. This advanced, data science-based approach enables asset managers to run advanced analytics to determine the current health of an asset, predict when it might fail, and prescribe the most economical way to maintain its current level of reliability. With analytics, asset managers gain greater visibility into the grid and can implement data-driven asset management strategies. Partner with Nokia to take your asset management strategies up a level. Visit https://nokia.ly/ IoTapplications or email Nigel. Nawacki@Nokia.com I N D U S T RY I N S I G H T Asset management strategies are changing ABOUT JRC The Joint Radio Company Ltd (JRC), a collaborative arrange- ment established over 50 years ago, is a joint venture between UK electricity and gas indus- tries initially created to manage radio spectrum allocations for these industries. Radio systems support operational, safety and emergency communica- tions. These communications networks provide resilient and reliable communications at all times to unmanned sites and plant in remote locations to maintain the integrity of the UK's energy generation, transmission and distribution networks. Over the years JRC has developed a broader capability for the speci- fi cation and design of resilient voice and data networks to support the needs of the energy utilities and other infrastructure. October 4th sees JRC's annual seminar being held this year at the London Transport Museum and provides an opportunity for government stakeholders and industry representatives to share latest developments in the management and control of UK energy networks.