Across North America, municipal water utilities are investing heavily in digital asset management to extend asset life, improve reliability and make better use of limited operational resources. Pipes, meters, valves, pumps and pressure zones are increasingly tracked as digital assets, each contributing data that helps utilities understand condition, risk and performance.
In this environment, advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) is a critical enabling system that complements SCADA, inspection programs and asset management software. To support digital asset strategies, AMI must do more than collect meter reads. It must perform predictably, support secure two-way communications and remain reliable over decades of operation. FlexNet was designed with this role in mind.
Performance that expands asset visibility
Effective digital asset management depends on data that is frequent, predictable and available when needed. FlexNet delivers this visibility through a private, primary licensed radio frequency network built specifically for utility operations.
Because the network is dedicated to utility traffic rather than a shared or commercial consumer use, FlexNet supports up to six reads per day with alarms transmitted within minutes. This minute-level responsiveness enables timely operational awareness without introducing the complexity or risk associated with real-time process control. Utilities apply this data to leak detection, pressure analysis and early identification of abnormal consumption patterns.
For the City of Fort Worth, Texas, FlexNet-enabled data provided consistent insight into consumption and system behavior, helping staff identify leaks earlier, reduce unnecessary field investigations and resolve customer inquiries faster. The city reduced work orders by approximately 90% and achieved an estimated $1.1 million in annual savings while improving customer service.
Control that supports proactive asset management
Data alone does not improve asset outcomes unless utilities can act on it. FlexNet provides utilities with control over their communications infrastructure – how data is transmitted, how alarms are prioritized and how edge-level devices are managed. This control operates at distribution and the customer edge, while real-time operational authority remains within SCADA and plant automation systems.
Two-way communications enable remote actions that reduce response time and field costs. In Jacksonville, Texas, that capability proved critical during a winter freeze emergency. FlexNet-enabled alarms identified customers losing up to 28,000 gallons per day compared to typical usage of roughly 100 gallons. Sensus’ ally® meter, the industry’s only water meter equipped with a remotely controlled full-service valve, allowed immediate edge-level intervention to protect properties and limit water loss while system operators managed broader operational conditions through established control systems.
The ally meter’s pressure and temperature data also helped identify 65 localized network condition issues, informing inspection priorities and targeted field response – insight that is difficult to obtain using traditional methods alone.
Confidence for long-term asset strategies
Digital asset management is a long-term commitment. Utilities must be confident that supporting systems will perform not only during normal operations but also under extreme conditions.
FlexNet is engineered for resilience, supporting network designs with high redundancy. During back-to-back hurricanes impacting a large coastal utility in Central Florida, FlexNet AMI remained operational throughout while other communications systems, such as SCADA and cellular communications, experienced outages. Continued data availability supported safer recovery, faster leak identification during repressurization and reduced field exposure.
Enabling coverage without compromising the core
Service territories vary, and digital asset management requires visibility everywhere. FlexNet supports a hybrid approach that combines a FlexNet licensed radio frequency core with optional FlexNet cellular SmartPoints for targeted infill locations. This strategy extends AMI coverage while preserving the performance, control and total cost of ownership advantages of the primary licensed network.
Supporting asset management for the long term
FlexNet outperforms and out delivers in total cost of ownership in AMI but offers even greater value through digital asset management when integrated with SCADA systems, inspection programs and asset management platforms. Together, these systems create an asset intelligence environment that supports proactive decision-making, risk reduction and responsible infrastructure stewardship over decades.
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