Utilities
Netavo provides private connectivity for utility operators and the technology providers that serve them in the UK: water, wastewater, gas and electricity networks. We connect remote and unattended operational assets to the systems that monitor and control them, over a private network that does not touch the public internet.
What the sector requires
A utility's operational assets are spread across a wide area and are mostly unattended: pumping stations, treatment works, reservoirs, pressure and flow monitoring points, substations and metering. Each has equipment that reports to, and is often controlled from, a central system, and many have relied on leased lines or copper phone lines that are being withdrawn.
These connections carry operational traffic, so the route matters as much as the link. Operators need each site to reach the control system privately, to keep working if one mobile network or one line is lost, and to be managed as an estate that changes as assets are added, upgraded and retired.
- ReachConnectivity at remote and unattended sites
- PrivacyOperational traffic kept off the public internet
- ResilienceMore than one network, and a second path where required
- A route to control systemsPrivate connectivity into the operator's own network
- Legacy linesReplacements for lines being withdrawn
- A changing estateEvery connection managed in one place
How we support it
Connectivity for utility operators, and services delivered for telemetry and control system providers.
| Requirement | How we meet it |
|---|---|
| Connectivity at remote assets | Multi-network SIMs and eSIMs, including industrial formats |
| Sites with limited mobile coverage | Access to all four UK mobile networks on one SIM, with network selection policy set for the estate |
| Keeping operational equipment private | Private addressing on a private SIM network, with no public exposure |
| Reaching the control system on your own network | An encrypted tunnel, or a connection to an existing corporate WAN |
| Reaching cloud-hosted platforms | Private cloud interconnect into AWS or Azure |
| Larger sites, depots and control rooms | Fibre and dedicated Ethernet, on the same private network |
| Resilience for essential sites | Fixed access with a mobile second path |
| Replacing lines that carried telemetry or voice | Cellular replacements for legacy PSTN voice and signalling applications |
| Managing the estate | Activation, suspension and usage reporting through the portal or API |
Connecting operational assets privately
A private network from the asset to the control room
A private SIM network places every remote asset on the operator's own address plan and delivers its traffic into the operator's network or cloud environment. No device needs a public address, and none needs to maintain an encrypted tunnel of its own. Fixed sites and control rooms can join the same private network.
Mobile and fixed, chosen site by site
Most remote assets are connected by mobile data because a fixed line is unavailable or uneconomic. Treatment works, depots and control rooms may justify fixed access, with a mobile second path where the site is essential. Coverage at each location is part of the design: multi-network access widens the choice of networks, but it is not a promise of a signal everywhere.
What Netavo provides, and what it does not
Netavo provides the connectivity. Telemetry outstations, sensors, control systems and the software that interprets their data are supplied by the operator and its technology providers. The connection is designed around the equipment they have selected, and its requirements are confirmed with them before any existing line is replaced.
How an estate is delivered
Design
Coverage, addressing and the route to the control system are agreed around how the equipment at each type of site communicates.
Deliver
Sites are brought onto the private network in phases, with each connection proven before the line it replaces is ceased.
Operate
Connections are monitored, allowances are adjusted as the estate changes, and SIMs are suspended or ceased as assets are retired.
A typical engagement
A typical engagement begins with an operator's estate of remote assets and the lines they report over, or with a technology provider's outstation and the platform it reports to. We agree a standard connectivity design for each type of site, establish a private connection between our network and the control system, and supply SIMs for fitting during planned site visits.
Sites are migrated in phases, each tested with the equipment provider before the old line is ceased. The operator manages connections and reviews usage through the portal, or integrates those controls with its own systems through our API.
For solar and wind generation, see Renewables.
Relevant capabilities
Discuss a utilities requirement
Tell us about the assets, where they are, and the systems they report to. We will respond with coverage options, a recommended design and pricing.
Work with us →