SAN DIEGO - Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) today announced that its subsidiary, Qualcomm Intelligent Solutions, Inc., AT&T, CH2M and Gwinnett County Department of Water Resources (Gwinnett County) in Georgia are collaborating to reduce the amount of drinking water lost on its way to customers. This will be one of the first projects using power-efficient modems from Qualcomm Technologies to monitor non-revenue water usage – or water that has been treated and "lost" through the conveyance system before it reaches the customer whether through leaks, theft or meter errors. Gwinnett County operates at a low level of water loss, while across the nation, high levels of non-revenue water reflects a significant impact on the financial standing of water utilities leading to the waste of water and energy resources. In addition, identifying water leaks on a customer's property can provide them with information needed to take corrective action resulting in lower monthly water bills, which is of great interest to Gwinnett County.
This will be AT&T's largest pilot of its type using new ultrasonic meters connected to AT&T's LTE network. During the pilot study, meters will be installed and the data analyzed with the goal of identifying opportunities to reduce the cost of water delivery and distribution, improve management of water resources, improve system operations, and save money for customers. The pilot study will use Qualcomm Technologies' modems in solutions such as smart water meters to produce data to be used in the development of software algorithms. While this project is set for a pilot area, it can be expanded to the entire Gwinnett County water distribution system, helping to reduce water loss and deliver savings in energy and cost.
"Helping to intelligently connect water infrastructure is an example of how Qualcomm Technologies' connectivity solutions supports the development of advanced applications and services for the Industrial IoT segment," said Michael Wallace, senior vice president and general manager, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. "According to the International Water Association, non-revenue water accounts for up to twenty-five percent of the water supply globally, and our teams have been working to develop solutions that can improve and extend the life of our water infrastructure leveraging LTE and 3G. Together with AT&T and CH2M, our goal is to bring world class solutions to help reduce water loss for a large water utility partner, Gwinnett County."
"Gwinnett County has tracked the impact of non-revenue water for many years and is at the forefront of implementing new technology solutions to better manage their system," said Ken Thompson, deputy director, CH2M Intelligent Water Solutions. "Using cellular technologies is an innovative approach to managing non-revenue water, which has traditionally been managed through pipeline leak detection programs. Demonstrating new technologies to get real-time data in Gwinnett County's water distribution system will provide an innovative approach for utilities worldwide to significantly reduce water loss and achieve economic and environmental benefits."
"A key component of our smart cities initiatives is to use Internet of Things solutions to help cities better manage their water operations by protecting their supply and preventing waste," said Mike Zeto, general manager, AT&T Smart Cities. "We're thrilled to be working with Qualcomm Intelligent Solutions and CH2M as we help Gwinnett County test this new technology that may be key to solving a critical need for the water industry."
Gwinnett County's water utility serves a population of nearly 900,000 people through over 3,700 miles of distribution pipe and 250,000 service connections. While Gwinnett County's water losses are low by industry standards, tracking of water loss is vital to providing responsible stewardship of limited water resources.
"The data from this system will allow us to offer customers a never-before-seen look at their water consumption – helping them manage usage and identify home leaks or running toilets in real time. This can help the customer save money as well as conserve water," said Rick Reagan, deputy director, business services, Gwinnett County. "The Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) system will allow us to continue to provide superior water service at an excellent value. Leveraging the data from the smart water network, we can track water as it moves through the system. We will be able to use the information to help respond more quickly to system leaks that may occur. Eventually this data may be used to predict where and when system leaks will occur."
Water sustainability is just one of the environmental challenges facing our cities. To explore this topic, city leaders and other stakeholders will take part in the two-day Global City Team Challenge (GCTC) SuperCluster event, March 22-23 in Atlanta. The event, co-hosted by NIST, City of Atlanta, AT&T, Smart Cities Council and Siemens, will explore how smart technologies can help cities tackle issues around energy, water and waste.
About Qualcomm
Qualcomm's technologies powered the smartphone revolution and connected billions of people. We pioneered 3G and 4G – and now we are leading the way to 5G and a new era of intelligent, connected devices. Our products are revolutionizing industries, including automotive, computing, IoT, healthcare and data center, and are allowing millions of devices to connect with each other in ways never before imagined. Qualcomm Incorporated includes our licensing business, QTL, and the vast majority of our patent portfolio. Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, operates, along with its subsidiaries, all of our engineering, research and development functions, and all of our products and services businesses, including, our QCT semiconductor business. To learn more, visit Qualcomm's website, blog, Twitter and Facebook pages.
About AT&T
AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) helps millions around the globe connect with leading entertainment, business, mobile and high speed internet services. We offer the nation's best data network* and the best global coverage of any U.S. wireless provider.** We're one of the world's largest providers of pay TV. We have TV customers in the U.S. and 11 Latin American countries. Nearly 3.5 million companies, from small to large businesses around the globe, turn to AT&T for our highly secure smart solutions.
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About CH2M
CH2M is the leading global professional services firm delivering sustainable solutions to clients around the world's most complex challenges, advancing the quality and standard of living for people everywhere. With revenue approaching US$6 billion, the firm has offices in 50 countries, with global headquarters based near Denver, Co., USA. More than 25,000 strong, CH2M people make a positive difference around the world, providing consulting, design, engineering, project management and delivery of vital infrastructure and resources to clients in public and private sectors and diverse industries. The firm operates five business segments: water; environmental and nuclear; transportation; oil, gas and chemical; and industrial and urban environments. From management and delivery of world events such as the Olympic Games, to innovations in water, energy and transportation infrastructure, CH2M consistently ranks among Ethisphere's World's Most Ethical Companies; as the number-one firm in both environmental consulting and program management by Engineering News-Record; and among sustainability leaders by Verdantix, an independent analyst firm. In 2015, the firm received the Stockholm International Water Institute's highest Industry Water Award for pioneering water conservation and reuse technologies. To learn more about the CH2M difference, interact with the company at www.ch2m.com, twitter.com/ch2m, or facebook.com/ch2mhill, and search for jobs at ch2mhill.jobs.
About Gwinnett County Department of Water Resources (DWR)
The Gwinnett County Department of Water Resources is a publicly-owned utility committed to providing superior water, wastewater, and stormwater services at an excellent value to residents and businesses. DWR is widely recognized for innovation and service excellence as well as stewardship of the environmental resources in Gwinnett County. For more information, visit www.gwinnettH2O.com.
Qualcomm is a trademark of Qualcomm Incorporated registered in the United States and other countries.
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*Claim based on the Nielsen Certified Data Network Score. Score includes data reported by wireless consumers in the Nielsen Mobile Insights survey, network measurements from Nielsen Mobile Performance and Nielsen Drive Test Benchmarks for Q3+Q4 2016 across 121 markets.
**Global coverage claim based on offering discounted voice and data roaming; LTE roaming; and voice roaming in more countries than any other U.S. based carrier. International service required. Coverage not available in all areas. Coverage may vary per country and be limited/restricted in some countries.
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