Broadband trial uses water pipes to target hard-to-reach homes

Fibre broadband cables could be fed through the country’s water pipes as part of the government’s plan to speed up the nationwide roll out of lightning-fast broadband and mobile coverage in rural areas.

The three-year project hopes to accelerate the rollout of broadband in rural areas, without the need to dig up roads to install cables.

£4m is available for innovators to trial the potential method of connecting fibre optics cables to homes, businesses, and mobile masts, that is already being deployed in other countries such as Spain, with the hope of accelerating the government’s Project Gigabit plan to level up broadband access across the country.

Civil works, in particular installing new ducts and poles, can make up as much as four fifths of the costs to industry of building new gigabit-capable broadband networks, so if successful this scheme would reduce the costs of installing broadband.

Digital infrastructure minister, Matt Warman, said: ‘The cost of digging up roads and land is the biggest obstacle telecoms companies face when connecting hard-to-reach areas to better broadband, but beneath our feet there is a vast network of pipes reaching virtually every building in the country.

‘So we are calling on Britain’s brilliant innovators to help us use this infrastructure to serve a dual purpose of serving up not just fresh and clean water but also lightning-fast digital connectivity.’

The project will also test solutions that reduce the amount of water lost due to leaks in the public supply, which amounts to 20% of the total supply, by putting connected sensors in the pipes to allow water companies to quickly and accurately identify and repair leaks.

Any solution used to trial fibre optic cables in the water mains will be approved by the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) before being used in a real-world setting.

The Fibre in Water project is due to conclude in March 2024, with the final year of the project exploring scaling proven solutions across the country.

In related news, over two million homes and businesses in England will benefit from faster broadband speeds, as part of the government’s £5bn Project Gigabit fund, which aims to upgrade digital infrastructure in rural areas.

Photo by Denny Müller