How IoT Technology Transformed Water Management in Palermo

In the heart of the Italian city of Palermo, a transformative journey began, driven by the imperative need for efficient water management. Unidata Spa, in collaboration with BIP Spa, Lektor Srl, and TEKTELIC embarked on a pioneering endeavor to revolutionize water metering systems. This partnership marked the beginning of a groundbreaking project aimed at leveraging IoT technologies to address the city’s growing water management challenges.

The Challenge

In the bustling city of Palermo, the need for efficient water management had become increasingly apparent. With the growing concern for sustainable resource management, the Azienda Municipalizzata Acquedotto di Palermo Spa (AMAP) sought to revolutionize their water metering system. This led to the birth of a groundbreaking collaboration between Unidata Spa, BIP Spa, and Lektor Srl, forming a Temporary Grouping of Companies (RTI) to undertake the monumental task.

Unidata Spa, at the helm of the RTI, envisioned a future where the Internet of Things (IoT) would play a pivotal role in water metering solutions. Their proposal, emphasizing Smart Metering solutions, aimed to revolutionize water consumption monitoring, budgeting, and leak identification. The company’s innovative approach caught the attention of the Azienda Municipalizzata Acquedotto Spa, ultimately leading to the awarding of the tender.

The Solution

The initial project valued at EUR 2.7 million over 36 months. The plan encompassed the design and implementation of a purpose-built LoRaWAN® network and RMI for water management. Additionally, Unidata’s application UniOrchesta, was set to play a crucial role in the management and control of the LoRaWAN® networks.

The impact of this project is far-reaching, with 145,000 users in the Metropolitan City of Palermo, including numerous municipalities in the Eastern and Western areas, set to benefit from the innovative IoT network and solution.

To ensure the LoRaWAN® network has the excellent and reliable radio coverage for channelling water metering use case and the lowest deployment and operating cost, Unidata selected TEKTELIC Carrier Grade KONA Macro and KONA Enterprise gateways for this project. Over 150 gateways are deployed throughout the Metropolitan City of Palermo and its surrounding municipalities.

The KONA Macro and KONA Enterprise gateways offered a seamless integration with Unidata’s LoRaWAN® servers, ensuring the reliability and scalability required to cover the extensive user base in the Metropolitan City of Palermo and its surrounding municipalities.

TEKTELIC’s KONA Macro and Enterprise gateways are known on the market for their excellent Radio performance, unmatched reliability, and support of wide operating conditions. They are designed to meet telecom equipment Carrier Grade specifications. With fewer TEKTELIC KONA gateways needed to cover the same area, this translated in significantly lower the initial deployment and ongoing yearly operating costs. The enhanced OAM, remote maintenance and support, SW updates and upgrades, cellular modems certified by global cellular operators, and at least 15-year MTBF ensure Unidata network investment protection for the life of the network.

Unidata was impressed by TEKTELIC’s commitment to excellence and their proven track record in providing high performance and reliability LoRaWAN® solutions, what perfectly aligns with Unidata’s vision for a sustainable and efficient water management system.

Conclusion

By leveraging LoRaWAN® technology, Palermo gains not only efficient water management but also benefits such as reduced water wastage, improved leak detection, and optimized resource allocation. This transformative project demonstrates the immense potential of IoT solutions to address critical urban infrastructure needs, empowering cities like Palermo to thrive in an era of sustainability and innovation.

To learn more about TEKTELIC’s complete End-to-End IoT solutions, please visit www.tektelic.com or contact info@tektelic.com

To learn more about Unidata, please visit www.unidata.it