South Essex councils deploy IoT networks to power smart city services

The internet of things (IoT) is rapidly becoming the internet of smart living. Exemplifying this evolution, the councils of Basildon, Brentwood, Castle Point, Rochford, Southend-on-Sea, Thurrock and Essex County – all just east of London – have implemented a region-wide low-power, long-range, wide area network (LoRaWAN) IoT infrastructure to monitor public buildings, flooding, footfall, environmental conditions, safety risks and transport-related activity.

Designed and delivered by public sector and business networking firm Abzorb, the network is designed to give the six local councils and county council a shared, scalable platform for deploying IoT services quickly and cost-effectively, and a central management hub, without having to build separate infrastructure for every new IoT service and use case.

Looking at the project’s rationale and objectives, the councils are said to have recognised the potential of IoT technologies to improve operational efficiency, reduce costs and provide better visibility across public assets and services. In addition, deploying IoT projects in isolation was seen as difficult to justify financially because each new initiative would require its own dedicated network infrastructure.

By partnering with the company to build a unified LoRaWAN network leveraging the councils’ existing dark fibre investment, Abzorb said the councils have created a long-term digital foundation that lowers the barrier to innovation for all councils in the collaboration.

The provider revealed that the project was delivered £40,000 under budget, having reduced the required number of gateways from an initial estimate of 60 to just 44 through advanced radio frequency (RF) planning and detailed network mapping. Designed as an open platform, the network allows councils to procure and deploy sensors from any supplier, further reducing costs and preventing supplier lock-in.

Abzorb delivered the full end-to-end roll-out programme across 44 gateway sites spanning the six-council region, managing surveys, installation, testing, RAMS documentation, health and safety compliance, and direct coordination with individual council sites. This provides coverage across 98% of the region.

The solution also includes a second LoRaWAN implementation that can be made available to businesses, public sector partners and other organisations across the region. This is regarded as a way of creating opportunities for learning or a potential new revenue stream for the councils from the same infrastructure investment.

The network is already enabling councils to deploy a broad range of smart services, including footfall counters in libraries and public spaces, occupancy and damp monitoring of buildings, flood and temperature sensors, bin monitoring, carbon monoxide detection, Legionella compliance monitoring, and vehicle and people counting.

In all, Abzorb believes the scalable nature of the LoRaWAN platform means the councils across South Essex can continue to introduce new use cases without the cost and complexity traditionally associated with deploying separate infrastructure projects, positioning the region as a model for shared smart city investment in the UK public sector.

We now have a platform that every department across the region can build on, and the fact that it came in under budget only reinforces how much value Abzorb brought to this project. This is exactly the kind of innovative thinking the public sector needs

With the network now live, the councils are continuing to expand the number of IoT services and sensors deployed across libraries, public buildings, roads, environmental monitoring projects and public infrastructure.

“What impressed us most about Abzorb was the way they approached this as a genuine partnership. They took the time to understand what we were trying to achieve across six different councils, each with their own priorities and pressures, and came back with a solution that is smart and future-proof,” said Carol Thomas, director of digital and ICT at Southend-on-Sea City Council.

“We now have a platform that every department across the region can build on, and the fact that it came in under budget only reinforces how much value Abzorb brought to this project. This is exactly the kind of innovative thinking the public sector needs.”

Abzorb’s head of public sector and enterprise, Dean Al-Sened, described the project as a blueprint for how IoT infrastructure should be delivered across the public sector. “By bringing deep technical expertise to the network design phase, we were able to drive out significant cost without compromising on coverage or capability,” he said. 

“The councils get more for less through a platform that will keep delivering value for years to come as new services are added. We believe this model works, and we want every council in the UK to benefit from it. Our focus is on delivering digital transformation through shared infrastructure, intelligent design, and a genuine commitment to the customer’s long-term goals,” Al-Sened added.