Affinity Water has awarded a major contract to Lightsonic to deploy its Distributed Fibre Optic Sensing (DFOS) leak detection technology, which is being trialled on Openreach’s existing fibre network. The contract marks a significant investment in the company’s strategy to reduce leakage across its water supply system.

A project to install fibre optic telecommunication cables within a section of the potable water pipe network has been discontinued due to ongoing regulatory hurdles primarily related to the requirement for Regulation 31 (Reg 31) approval from the Drinking Water Inspectorate.

Yorkshire Water and its partners have formally launched a pilot in South Yorkshire to explore the potential for the UK's water networks to be used as a conduit for delivering high-speed broadband to homes and businesses.

New proposals to accelerate the rollout of broadband without digging up roads would see fibre-optic cables deployed through 17 kilometres of live drinking water mains between Barnsley and Penistone in the government technology trial.

Yorkshire Water and partners have received a £1.2 million Government grant to investigate a pilot trial to run fibre optic cables in its water network - which would be a first for the UK.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport has launched a £4 million competition aimed at accelerating the rollout of broadband and mobile services via drinking water mains, together with helping to reduce leakage from the public water supply.

SSE Telecoms (SSET ) is looking for supply chain input to understand the potential of designing and developing a cable connection system suitable for use in introducing a fibre optical cable into live potable water mains in the UK.

SSE Enterprise Telecoms – one of the UK’s leading connectivity suppliers, and part of SSE plc – has today announced details of a fibre agreement with Three UK and O2 that will form the basis of enhanced fibre access in the country’s capital.

Anglian Water engineers are about to begin a trial using fibre optic cables to detect hard to find leaks invisible to the naked eye in their water pipe network.