14 August 2025
Openreach, the UK’s leading fibre optic broadband provider, has announced collaborations with several prominent partners to test innovative methods for detecting water and gas leaks by utilising its existing fibre optic infrastructure.
These trials aim to leverage fibre sensing technology — originally developed for earthquake monitoring and subsea cable protection — to provide real-time, early warning signals for underground utility networks.
Openreach’s extensive fibre network, which currently reaches over 19 million UK premises with plans to extend to 25 million by December 2026 and up to 30 million by 2030, offers a substantial platform for deploying such sensing capabilities. The technology involves detecting changes in the properties of light pulses travelling through the fibre, caused by vibrations or disturbances in nearby infrastructure, enabling the identification and localisation of leaks or other issues.
The first trial is a partnership involving Openreach, Arcadis, Thames Water, and Cadent, utilising Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) technology from FibreSense. This system turns spare fibre optic cables into a network of sensors capable of listening to and pinpointing problems within gas and water pipelines. Conducted over six months in Hounslow, West London, and funded by Transport for London’s Lane Rental Scheme, the project aims to detect early signs of leaks or damage caused by construction activities, vibrations, or sudden blockages. By recognising these signals swiftly, the initiative seeks to reduce the disruption and cost associated with emergency repairs — currently estimated at £750 million annually in London alone.
Thames Water’s Innovation Manager, Sam Bright, explained that Openreach’s extensive network was a natural fit for this kind of sensor deployment. The goal is to develop a scalable model that could be adopted across other UK cities, providing utility providers with a proactive approach to maintenance that reduces costs and service disruptions. Trevor Linney, Openreach’s Director of Network Technology, emphasised that leveraging fibre sensing technology aligns with the company’s broader aim of enhancing network resilience and efficiency, with potential for nationwide application if the trials succeed.
The second trial involves a collaboration with Affinity Water and Lightsonic, deploying Distributed Fibre Optic Sensing (DFOS) technology to detect leaks in water pipelines. Given that the UK loses approximately 3 billion litres of treated water daily — nearly a quarter of the national supply — this approach could significantly bolster leak detection efforts. Lightsonic’s system transforms Openreach’s fibre cables into thousands of virtual sensors that identify the acoustic signatures of leaks with high precision. Machine learning algorithms filter out background noise, enabling fast, accurate, real-time alerts.
James Curtis, Head of Leakage at Affinity Water, described the development as a transformative step towards proactive leak management, highlighting that harnessing Openreach’s network and Lightsonic’s technology could help meet ambitious leakage reduction targets and improve service resilience.
While these trials are promising, they are still in early stages, and it remains to be seen how effectively they will scale across the UK’s existing infrastructure. Openreach’s dominance as the largest FTTP provider makes it the logical candidate for early adoption, but future developments may involve multiple networks working together to optimise leak detection and network maintenance.
Industry observers anticipate updates on these projects early next year as the technology matures, potentially heralding a new era in utility management driven by fibre optic sensing innovations.
