Zalavíz supplies drinking water to nearly 150,000 people in 161 towns and villages. It is also responsible for safe waste water disposal and treatment in these areas. Using narrowband IoT technology running on a GSM mobile network, the company has connected 1,500 consumers to the IoT system running on Telenor’s network and plans to add another 10,000 metering points later. This way, the system will be capable of immediately detecting water leakages and predicting broken pipes. As a result, it will significantly reduce the financial losses suffered by consumers and save a major volume of valuable drinking water in the event of a failure.
IoT has been considered one of the primary benefits offered by new generation mobile networks in recent years. There have been several successful tests running across the country with technologies enabling safe narrowband communication among a large number of sensors in various industries. Zalavíz’s digital solution running on Telenor’s network is a major milestone as the benefits of the new technology will be extended to a large number of people after the testing period.
“The availability of the necessary data and professional data collection and management are key to quality assurance. The capabilities of the new system allowed us to make the process of water supply much more reliable, controllable and trackable and to carry out fast and efficient inspections in the event of consumer complaints”, said Gábor Hadnagy, Head of the Procurement Department at Zalavíz Zrt.
The Internet of Things also helps resolve labour shortage: the water meters connected to the new system no longer have to be read by human staff. Their values are automatically registered by the utility company’s system online. As a result, human staff can focus on more critical activities requiring human intervention. Continuously developing its networks and launching new B2B services, Telenor Hungary also aims to help companies address labour market challenges.