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NETWORK / 37 / MAY 2017 out new telecoms infrastructure. However, it is expensive, and it is likely that in the long term it will be used to supplement other technologies, particularly alongside power line communications. Narrowband IoT As well as technologies that are being trialled and implemented, there are also new technologies set to come into play that promise exciting potential to the networks. First among these is narrowband IoT, which is expected to become available in the UK in about 18 months. The technology, which operates over the mobile network infrastructure, has been designed with demands such as those of the smart grid telecoms requirement in mind. It enables small amounts of data to be transmitted between modules at a cost comparable with GPRS. It has already created great excitement, as Dr James Irvine of the Power Networks Demonstration Centre at the University of Strathclyde explains: "If you believe the hype, you can have devices a couple of metres down at the bottom of a pipe running for 10 years on a single battery, which is great." In reality, however, Irvine predicts that in its early days the costs of running a large network of smart modules on narrowband will prove too high compared with options such as power line communication. However, because of the scale of the applications expected to make use of it, he expects the costs of connection and sending data to come down quickly, making it a strong prospect for the networks in the years to come. Beyond narrowband, wireless mesh and power line communications, there are a range of other technologies. For example, satellite-based networks to provide in-flight connectivity have the potential to develop into affordable solutions for other applications. However, it is likely that rather than there being one dominant technology of choice, networks will instead establish their telecoms requirements through a range of different options. When will this new era of connectivity across the networks arrive? Irvine envisages a gradual adoption occurring as costs come down and the ability to connect new elements occurs: "I think it'll expand in the types of equipment DNOs are going to connect up. As it becomes more cost- effective and they see more of the benefits in having more telemetry in the network – and more control in different parts of the network – then the sort of break-even point for providing communications is going to change." N CASE STUDY IbErDrolA DISTrIbUCIóN The reliable collection of data is fundamental to the introduction of smart meters on the network – and it has other benefits Modernising the distribution network in Spain meant power network Iberdrola Distribución had to think beyond simply fitting smart meters and explore how the data it collected could be gathered reliably. Castellón is the first city in Spain to boast an intelligent power distribution grid. It was essential that there was a robust and consistent end-to-end communications network from the utility to each residence if the company's plans to remotely manage and read meters in Castellón were to succeed. Existing meters in domestic and commercial premises were replaced with non-proprietary smart meters based on power line carrier technology (PRIME). Data from these meters and meas- urements from the low-voltage lines is used to enable advanced services such as asset management and performance bench- marking, and to allow the utility to optimise the grid. The data has helped Iberdrola improve the quality of power and significantly reduce failure incidents for its 180,000 cus- tomers in the city. Those customers were also able to check their daily, weekly and monthly consumption curves by visiting Iberdrola's website. PRIME uses an open, single specification and standard nar- rowband power line to transfer data generated from 100,000 meters to the associated data concentrator at the distribution transformer. Narrowband power line communications (PLC) technology is considered robust and a cost-effective way to deploy smart meters on a large scale on low-voltage grids. PRIME-based intelligent data concentrators (IDC) add fuctions to the distribution grid at core locations. They also provide infor- mation about the condition of the grid with embedded sensors. The project confirmed that a stable and reliable communications network can handle the tremendous amount of data gathered by smart meters. The work was completed as part of the company's STAR pro- ject (STAR is the Spanish acronym for remote grid management and automation system) in the ten autonomous regions where the company has electricity distribution networks. Since the project, which started in 2010, the number of smart meters installed by Iberdrola in Spain has passed nine million. This means that, to date, 85% of its meters have been modernised.