The new connectivity solution “5G Slice for the Water Industry” allows water utilities to monitor and control their entire system of automation technology over a virtual 5G network using 5G network slicing technology. These networks are optimized to reliably deliver defined Quality of Service (QoS) for automation applications. This is critical for processes like pressure control, flow measurement, and automated emergency response at water utilities’ mostly distributed sites.

5G network slicing is a technology that divides O2 Telefónica Germany’s physical 5G mobile network into customized virtual networks called slices. These 5G slices are regionally limited and optimized for individual use cases in terms of their speed, response time, and security. The two partners worked together to develop and test a solution consisting of 5G routers from Siemens and 5G slices from O2 Telefónica to fulfill the high communication requirements of automation protocols. Thanks to the end-to-end separation of data traffic from the public Internet, the solution ensures a high level of cybersecurity and data protection for water companies which are subject to critical infrastructure regulations.

“By working with O2 Telefónica Germany, we can offer our customers in the water industry a secure and reliable communication solution for their distributed applications. The combination of Siemens hardware and 5G network slicing delivers the necessary quality, reliability and security for demanding automation applications,” said Axel Lorenz, CEO Process Automation at Siemens.

Siemens