Remote Cellular Data Capture

Cellular technology has been oversold by the mobile telephone operating companies as a wireless communication medium to use for remote monitoring and control.

However, experience has taught industry that at best if you deploy a number of GSM/GPRS/SMS linked assets in the field at best you can expect only 70% of them to be in reliable communication at any one time.

We believe that the solution lies with a hybrid between low power radio technology talking to a single or multiple cellular hubs/gateways. Our chairman Mr Brian Back has a vast level of experience in this matter – designing city wide systems where tens of thousands of low power radio devices communicate to just a few hundred cellular hubs/gateways.

It goes without saying, a hybrid network can bring about substantial savings in network charges (SIM rental costs), administration, paperwork, handling charges and also the headache associated with the unreliability of the networks. Further it is very practical to make a low power radio device communicate every day, 24/7 from a single lithium cell for over a decade, whereas with a GSM/SMS device this is impossible.

Wireless bridges can also be crated to permit the relocation of cellular devices where network coverage is poor. Try communicating to the cellular network from below ground and reliability falls dramatically even if special manhole covers are fitted.

However, use a wireless bridge to bring the signal out of the ground to a nearby building and install the cellular hub/gateway device here and you are on to a winner as every 3m increase in height doubles the signal level and bringing a unit from below to above ground can give a 10 fold improvement in signal.

Applications Include:

  • Wide Area Security
  • Manhole Cover Security
  • Wide Area AMR and Temperature Monitoring
  • Remove Pressure and Flow Monitoring
  • Water Quality / Pollution Monitoring
  • Railway Condition Monitoring