Management of remote sites

Summary

According to experts, the connection of rural areas in the DRC would become a new catalyst for economic development. This is what motivates the even greater establishment of telecommunications sites in rural areas. However, with an almost non-existent road network in these rural areas, the management of remote sites with difficult access is not without additional costs.

Reducing these costs requires, among other things, the implementation of a management system for remote sites that can operate in 2G or 3G in order to minimize intervention times and untimely breakdowns.

Challenge

How to maintain and monitor a remote site powered by a hybrid Generator - Solar Panels - Batteries system in an area where, because of the distance, human intervention must be sufficiently minimized?

It also comes down to answering the question how to install a monitoring system to perform certain tasks remotely and control the vital parameters of the site. This system could integrate CCTV cameras for security, access control with electronic padlocks, etc.

Solution

A telecom site consists of an infrastructure comprising active and passive equipment. However, most of these elements can be connected to a controller which, connected to the internet, makes it possible to have a single monitoring platform.

We used a RUT956 router to ensure a secure and reliable connection, allowing the site controller to connect to the internet using 2G and 3G where available.

In addition, the RUT956 has Dual-SIM functionality with automatic failover, which increases the reliability of the solution. The use of RUT956 gives the possibility to access the controller remotely and to manage a large number of sites from a central management center. In addition, this professional cellular router is equipped with Gigabit Ethernet and Wi-Fi, which makes it possible to connect additional components such as CCTV cameras or access control barriers. Additionally, every maintenance company should have alerts and notifications if something happens to the system. In this case, the whole system is remotely controlled via site management software, and the router – RUT956 – is managed and controlled via RMS – Remote Management System. The RMS ensures that the RUT956 receives all the latest firmware updates and can provide valuable alerts and usage reports.

Topology