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Reserve Your Seat TodayOTT Communications, a telecommunications provider serving Maine and surrounding regions, needed better visibility into remote-site power and environmental conditions after outages led to service disruptions. By deploying DPS Telecom TempDefender RTUs, OTT gained web-based status monitoring that reduced unnecessary site visits and helped keep sites online.
| Industry | Telecommunications |
|---|---|
| Company | OTT Communications |
| Geography / Coverage | Maine and surrounding regions |
| Company Type | Telephone and high-speed internet service provider (residential, business, and service providers) |
| Primary Challenge | Detect power outages and environmental alarm conditions at remote sites to prevent service outages and reduce manual checks |
| Solution Deployed | TempDefender RTUs added to remote monitoring for power and environmental visibility |
| Key Result | Improved remote visibility and reliability while eliminating many wasteful truck rolls and random site visits |
| Products Used | TempDefender RTU |
OTT Communications offers reliable and affordable telephone and high-speed internet services for residential and business customers, as well as service providers throughout Maine and the surrounding regions. OTT Communications has been a leader in communications services in the area for over 120 years.
Frank Dorr, Network Engineering Technician for OTT Communications, is responsible for maintaining reliable operations standards for approximately 8,000 customers. After experiencing power outages at remote sites that led to service outages, Dorr began looking for a practical way to monitor environmental alarm conditions and keep remote locations online.
Remote telecom locations often run unattended, but they still depend on stable DC power and acceptable site conditions. When commercial power drops, batteries begin discharging, temperatures can drift, and moisture events can threaten equipment. Without visibility, operations teams are forced into time-consuming manual checks and reactive dispatches.
For OTT, the immediate pain point was power outages at remote sites that could lead to service outages. The team needed a way to confirm site status quickly, understand whether power was present, and see environmental conditions without making random visits.
After using alternative monitoring equipment, Dorr decided to deploy TempDefenders into OTT's remote monitoring system.
"I've used other RTUs," says Dorr, "but we really wanted the DPS equipment because it can run off of the -48V power that we have at all of our remote sites." TempDefenders allowed Dorr to monitor the power supply and track environmental factors such as temperature and moisture.
For organizations with similar remote-site needs, DPS Telecom RTUs are commonly used to translate on-site conditions into actionable alarms. Depending on the application, this can include reading discrete status points (such as power present), collecting analog values (such as temperature), and publishing status to a web interface for fast troubleshooting. OTT's implementation centered on TempDefender for these essential checks.
"You can see what the temperature is and you can even see if the power is on. We have definitely saved a lot of windshield time because of them."
With TempDefenders deployed, OTT technicians can log into a web interface to view unit status and confirm site conditions without a drive. This improved reliability while cutting down on waste that came from routine manual checks.
Prior to TempDefender deployment, technicians would have to perform random site visits to make sure systems were functioning correctly. In the event of a power outage at a remote site, a technician would have to first learn of the outage, drive to the main site to pick up a portable generator, drive back out to the remote site to hook it up, and remain there to wait and see when the power came back on.
With the addition of TempDefenders, most of these truck rolls were eliminated. According to Dorr, the team can remotely view interruptions in the power supply and attend to them in a timely manner.
OTT achieved practical, operations-focused improvements from remote visibility:
"We depend on DPS Telecom equipment in order to know when something is wrong with our equipment at our remote sites."
OTT also highlighted the value of ongoing support. With continued help from the staff at DPS Telecom, OTT Communications has been able to keep their equipment running smoothly with regular firmware updates.
"I get the regular firmware updates," said Dorr, "They even have a link in the emails so I can download the new firmware." DPS tech support representatives were also readily available to assist with needs that came up after the initial order.
If your application needs to scale beyond basic environmental points (for example, more discrete and analog inputs, network polling, or centralized alarming across many sites), DPS Telecom also offers a broad NetGuardian RTU family designed for larger remote monitoring builds. OTT's deployment in this story focused on TempDefender for the required remote-site visibility.
Many telecom huts and cabinets use -48VDC battery plants. Monitoring hardware that can operate from the same -48V supply can remain online during utility power loss and simplifies power wiring at remote sites.
Common points include power presence, battery/rectifier status (where applicable), temperature, door or intrusion contacts, and water or moisture conditions. OTT used TempDefender to monitor power and environmental factors like temperature and moisture.
A web interface lets technicians confirm whether power is on, review current conditions, and decide whether a dispatch is necessary. OTT reported that many wasteful trips were eliminated after deploying TempDefenders.
Firmware updates help keep devices stable and current. OTT noted receiving regular updates with download links, supported by DPS Telecom technical support.
If you need to reduce truck rolls and improve uptime with remote power and environmental alarming, DPS Telecom can help you select the right RTU approach for your sites and workflows. Get a Free Consultation or call 1-800-693-0351 to speak with an expert about your project.
