Vodafone is joining forces with River Severn Partnership Advanced Wireless Innovation Region (RSPAWIR) and Wireless DNA to use its mobile network to provide more accurate rain nowcasting.
Nowcasting is the short-term forecast of rainfall, typically over a timeframe ranging from a few minutes to a few hours ahead. The trial is across the River Severn catchment area to provide long-term resilience for communities and the environment.
Communities along the River Severn have a long history of flooding. Significant floods in recent decades have caused extensive damage to homes and businesses, while impacting local infrastructure and disrupting travel. An estimated £230m per year is spent across the region to manage and mitigate damage to infrastructure brought by floods.
The partnership will use Vodafone’s mobile network as an environmental sensor to monitor rainfall. Electromagnetic waves at certain frequencies are sensitive to precipitation, as water in the air affects the quality of the wireless link between masts. A microwave link can therefore function as a virtual rain gauge, providing pinpointed and precise precipitation data.
Providing WiFi in flooded Europe needs more than just wellies
Instant Network teams, part of the Vodafone Foundation, use their skills and training to provide emergency connectivity to people across the world displaced by disasters and trauma.
Wireless DNA will monitor all signal variations to identify those caused by precipitation and share this data with the River Severn Partnership to enhance early warning systems for flooding and improve flood defences for local residents.
The additional data will provide insights to supplement conventional systems, like radar and rain gauges, with a dense layer of ground-level observations.
Vodafone’s mobile network can work as an environmental sensor because the data offers greater accuracy than radar and more detail than weather stations, improving forecasts with localised insights.
Matt Smith, Programme Manager, RSPAWIR, said: “The River Severn Partnership is committed to making the Severn, Wye, Warwickshire Avon and Teme the most vibrant and resilient river network. As a result, this River Severn Partnership Advanced Wireless Innovation Region use case with Vodafone aligns perfectly with our strategic aims.
“By improving weather forecasting, we can better mitigate against flooding, improve resilience, and protect the health and livelihoods of the communities and businesses in our region.”
Beren Kayali wins Vodafone Business’ Women of the Year Innovation Award for tackling water shortages
Vodafone Business’ Women of the Year Innovation Award was today awarded to Beren Kayali at the Women of the Year Lunch & Awards for her groundbreaking work tackling access to water in the developing world.
Nick Gliddon, Director, Vodafone Business UK, said: “Storms and extreme weather are becoming more frequent and destructive. Working with River Severn Partnership, we can use our cutting-edge technology to provide greater insight on weather forecasting and help mitigate the impact of extreme events.
“This example shows how, through innovation, our mobile network can have a real impact on not just the lives of residents who live and work in the River Severn area, but for communities across the UK.”
The project has recently won The Future Networks Award for Radical Breakthroughs, awarded by the UK Telecoms Innovation Network for pioneering disruptive innovations in networking technology.
-Ends-
Notes to editors:
About River Severn Partnership Advanced Wireless Innovation Region
The River Severn Partnership Advanced Wireless Innovation Region is a £3.75m initiative, wholly funded by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and managed by Shropshire Council on behalf of the River Severn Partnership.
It is focused on accelerating the adoption of advanced wireless enabled technologies across three sectors which have particularly strong roots in the River Severn catchment area:
– Water Management
– Agri-Tech
– Public Sector
About the River Severn Partnership
The River Severn Partnership (RSP) involves Shropshire, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Monmouthshire, Powys, Telford & Wrekin, Warwickshire and Worcestershire unitary councils and county councils.
The RSP area covers 6,000 square miles in England and Wales has 2.6 million people.
With the River Severn at its heart, the Partnership has a shared plan supporting people, businesses, and the environment to be resilient to the impacts of climate change and, in so doing, stimulate sustainable economic growth.
