Yorkshire Water reinforces its technology defences with ntl:Telewest Business

• ‘Future proofing’ of communications network brings advanced communications tools that support best practice customer service

• Enhanced network’s management capabilities minimise customer impact in the event of site outages

• Investment delivers a digital communications network that connects 130 sites across 6,000 square miles

19 March, 2008. Yorkshire Water, the UK’s fourth largest water and sewage company, has reinforced the defences of its daily operations through an advanced digital network from ntl:Telewest Business, part of the Virgin Media group. The network investment strengthens the communications backbone that connects and underpins Yorkshire Water’s operations at its 130 sites, meaning that major problems at individual sites do not have a broader impact.

The enhancements to the network also provide Yorkshire Water with the foundations to roll out and utilise advanced communications services, such as Unified Communications and WiFi wireless network connectivity. This will help to enhance customer service by empowering operatives in the field with advanced communication tools, and also increase competitiveness through enabling flexible working practices to be adopted across the organisation in the future.

Covering an area of more than 6,000 square miles, Yorkshire Water supplies 1.24 billion litres of drinking water every day - the equivalent of a glass of water for every person on the planet. The investment in the IPVPN (Internet Protocol Virtual Private Network) with MPLS (Multi Protocol Label Switching) provides a secure, flexible and fully scalable infrastructure for carrying the company’s voice and data traffic. The enhanced network has also enabled the company to adopt a new approach to communications management. By linking all sites centrally over the network, the utilities company benefits from greater flexibility in managing the flow of data between sites, as it is easier to locate and isolate any problems.

Prior to the project being undertaken, network sites were linked through a ‘daisy chain’ system, which meant that when one site went offline it would take down the next site – and faults with major sites would impair the operations of at least six other locations. The enhancements to the private network, which became fully operational in January 2008, mean that each site is now connected centrally.   

“The water industry is a highly competitive market.  The network we’ve deployed provides us with the resilience and flexibility needed to manage and ensure the delivery of our service. Carrying all traffic on the same network provides significant cost benefits today, but it also provides us with the platform for greater innovation in the application of services and the ability to introduce some new services, such as unified communications and broadening the footprint of our Telemetry systems in the future. This will allow us to build real competitive advantage,” added Mr Nussey.

In a separate project, ntl:Telewest Business has helped Yorkshire Water successfully migrate its back-end systems to a new data centre located in Bradford.   ntl:Telewest Business helped ensure a seamless integration by establishing and managing Wide Area Networks (WANs) at both sites, and by switching off the redundant WAN when the new office was connected to the ntl:Telewest Business network.

“Technology underpins the delivery of services within the utilities industry, so it is vital that companies have a network infrastructure that can withstand the challenges of today’s environment,” said Ed Critchley, Business Sales Manager for ntl:Telewest Business. “By investing in advanced communications network today, Yorkshire Water is in a fantastic position to roll out new services and applications that can make a real difference to the organisation’s effectiveness and customer service in the future.”

Yorkshire Water operates more than 700 water and sewerage works, and 120 reservoirs. The company is also responsible for operating 40,000 miles of water and sewerage mains, enough pipework to circumnavigate the Earth.

About ntl:Telewest Business

ntl:Telewest Business, part of the UK’s second largest fixed-line telecommunications company, is a leading communications provider to businesses, public sector organisations and service providers in the UK. It delivers a complete portfolio of voice, data and internet solutions nation-wide.

ntl:Telewest Business sales and support teams are located across the UK, in close proximity to our customers, as part of a commitment to deliver superior customer service.

ntl:Telewest Business delivers services over the Group’s £13bn investment in its state-of-the-art infrastructure giving business customers access to the largest alternative network in the UK.

ntl:Telewest Business is trusted to provide critical communications to high profile customers including: Heathrow's Terminal 5, Birmingham City Council and Cambridgeshire County Council.

For further information go to http://www.ntltelewestbusiness.co.uk/