Control Case Study

Critical Cellular Connectivity for CNIGuard’s Manhole Monitoring System

November 2017

The Challenge

To deliver reliable, affordable and secure connectivity over a private network to support CNIguard’s Manhole Monitoring System (MMS).

The Control Solution

• A private cellular network using WestAccess to deliver an APN-as-a-Service

• Telenor roaming SIMs

• Hardware agnostic to allow futureproofing

• Full testing with a pilot scheme involving over 1000 MMS deployments

• Standard Control 2nd and 3rd line support and troubleshooting advice

The Results

• The cost effectiveness of WestAccess has been an excellent fit with CNIguard’s pricing

• The integrity of the MMS has been maintained with the security and reliability of the network

• The MMS is futureproofed as the Control networking solution is hardware agnostic

Case Study / Critical Cellular Connectivity for CNIGuard’s Manhole Monitoring System

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CNIguard

The protection of critical national infrastructure is essential to every-day-operations and has become a multi-trillion-dollar marketplace.

With headquarters in the UK and USA, CNIguard are international leaders in providing smart sensoring solutions for safeguarding and

strengthening the resilience of cities, infrastructures and populations. CNIguard’s SENSORCORE® technology platform forms the basis

for the company’s robust, cost-effective solutions for protecting infrastructure against both man-made and natural causes of damage.

Working closely with government and industry at policy and operational levels, CNIguard deliver smart solutions to the challenges

faced by the utilities, chemical, telecommunications, transportation and defence sectors worldwide.

Introducing the “Manhole Monitoring System”

Although an infrequent occurrence, manholes are at risk of exploding from

power surges and stray voltage that can be caused by degraded underground

powerlines. Stray voltage can also electrify manhole covers and other nearby

street furniture such as lampposts and bins; potentially delivering severe

electric shocks to passers-by. These incidents can cause significant injury to

pedestrians and animals, as well as damage to surrounding vehicles and

property. As part of a bespoke project for a key customer account who wanted

to safeguard against such incidents, CNIguard developed their Manhole

Monitoring System (MMS).

Through its accurate sensors, the CNIguard MMS minimises these risks whilst

simultaneously securing manholes, boxes, chambers, vaults, cabinets, kiosks

and bunkers from intrusion, theft and vandalism. As well as providing security,

the built-in SENSORCORE platform can also enable flood warning and other

safety environment and quality monitoring alerts. The current and voltage

levels in the manhole cables can also be monitored, providing real time loading

on the grid. A dashboard app shows the MMS status of all nodes on a map with

live and historical data. As part of its SaaS offering, CNIguard data analytics

enable the customer to optimise maintenance and repair operations resulting

in significant cost savings and reduced incidents.

“Our MMS consists of a sensor array which we custom designed for the project; a ruggedised self-contained unit which is embedded

underground within manholes to monitor gases, flooding and other environmental parameters. If unusual activity is detected, an alert

is sent from the sensor array to the SENSORCORE system so that potential issues can be detected and prevented from happening,”

said Dr. Edward Klinger, CEO at CNIguard.

The Multiple MMS Considerations

Flexible and highly scalable, cellular connectivity was identified as the most logical fit for connecting the MMS and transmitting the

data it collects back to the central system. To ensure the success of the MMS, and identify the best partner for delivering the

connectivity solution, CNIguard had the following considerations:

• The MMS needed to be deployed in a range of rural and urban environments, above or below ground

• The reliability and success of the MMS would depend on its ability to securely transmit alert data to the central system

With these considerations in mind, CNIguard set out to find the right cellular networking partner to deliver the connectivity solution

they needed.

Case Study / Critical Cellular Connectivity for CNIGuard’s Manhole Monitoring System

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Why Control?

After reviewing several potential providers, it was Control’s extensive track record in deploying similar secure networks, combined

with their ability to support a truly global cellular networking solution, that led to their selection. As opposed to other competing

options, which required multiple inputs, Control were also unique in their ability to provide an “all-in-one” networking service which

included SIMs and a private APN-as-a-Service – and all at a competitive price.

“Control were the obvious choice for our Manhole Monitoring Service; as leaders in their field they

had extensive expertise in cellular connectivity, were unique in their all-in-one offering and provided

the most cost-effective proposal.”

- Dr. Edward Klinger, CEO at CNIguard.

Securing and Connecting MMS

The Control solution was comprised of 3 core elements:

Roaming SIMS

To provide the reliable connectivity demanded by CNIguard’s smart manhole sensoring solution, Control proposed the use of Telenor

roaming SIMs. These are network agnostic and don’t have steering, allowing each MMS kit to connect to the best available network

in their location, ensuring best quality connection.

APN-as-a Service via the WestAccess Platform

The WestAccess platform provided a private APN-as-a-Service, enabling CNIguard to create a completely private and secure network

while still leveraging the Telenor roaming network. This is essential to securing all data transactions passing within the network, and

the WestAccess platform also provides advanced network management capabilities such as real-time alerts on its status – vital to this

critical application.

Control Technical Support

Finally, standard 2nd and 3rd line Control technical support was also positioned to ensure that in the unlikely event of a network issue

occurring, it could be identified and resolved as quickly as possible. Remote support during business hours, combined with initial

deployment support, ensures that the network runs as smoothly as possible.

Testing and Roll Out

Before any implementation could take place, full testing of the proposed solution was essential. Starting with a small testing phase,

CNIguard bench-tested 10 Telenor SIMs within a demo WestAccess account, installed into the MMS solution. With excellent results

from the bench test, a large pilot programme was set in motion involving over 1000 connected MMS units deployed into the end

customer’s live environment.

The testing proved the MMS with the Control solution to be a complete success; the connectivity solution meeting even the most

challenging underground demands across multiple locations. As a result, plans are now in place to deploy a further 8,000 MMS units

in a phased customer rollout. The upgraded MMS also includes new camera and power harvesting capabilities.

Case Study / Critical Cellular Connectivity for CNIGuard’s Manhole Monitoring System

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The Results

Repeatable Success

Available “as-a-Service” the WestAccess solution impressed CNIguard with its flexibility and scalability, along with how quickly it could

be deployed. The MMS’ proven success in conjunction with this has led to it becoming a part of CNIguard’s standard product line.

Secure, Reliable and Cost-Effective Networking

The combination of the Telenor roaming SIM with WestAccess has provided an end-to-end, secure, reliable networking solution –

ensuring the operational integrity of the MMS can be easily maintained.

CNIguard pride themselves on the cost-effectiveness of their products, therefore the Control solution was a logical fit. Delivering

enterprise-grade security with no up-front expenditure or investment in infrastructure, and supplied at a fraction of the usual costs

associated with delivering a private APN, the WestAccess solution is economical as well as best-in-class.

Futureproof

As the Control networking solution is completely hardware agnostic it allows the CNIguard MMS to evolve over time and incorporate

additional sensors and such like when required, without any changes to the connectivity solution.

“As specialists in cellular connectivity we are committed to delivering the best bespoke solutions for our clients. The solution we

designed for CNIguard has helped them to mitigate the risks of manhole safety and deliver a product that is rapidly becoming an

industry essential amongst global blue-chip utilities and infrastructure operators.” – Nathan Sanders, Managing Director at Control.

Introducing the Technology: WestAccess

Providing the same benefits of a private APN infrastructure, but without the costs of building and running it,

WestAccess is a totally private networking solution:

• Highly scalable and flexible – connect 1000s of sites as easily as 1

• Enterprise-grade security – on-demand private managed networking

• Network and hardware agnostic – works seamlessly across multiple cellular operators and can also provide hybrid networking with fixed line and satellite services

• Extends enterprise networks with ease – create a Wide Area Network extension over cellular

• Rapidly deployed – fully managed, end-to-end connectivity that can be rolled out in days and weeks instead of months

If you have any questions about this case study, please contact Control:

info@cntrl.io+44 (0)118 321 9475 @ControlLtd