Transforming Critical Infrastructure: How KORE and ADS Environmental Services Revolutionized Global Wastewater Monitoring

By [Author Name]
Technology & Infrastructure Correspondent

Executive Summary & Main Facts

In the modern municipal landscape, data is the lifeblood of efficient urban management. Yet, collecting high-stakes data from some of the most unforgiving environments on Earth—underground sewer systems, remote stormwater catchments, and sprawling municipal pipelines—presents immense logistical hurdles. For ADS Environmental Services, a premier IDEX Corporation business with over half a century of industry leadership, the challenge was never about the quality of their analytics. Rather, it was about the fragile, invisible thread connecting those analytics to the surface: wireless network connectivity.

Operating across North America, the United Kingdom, and Australia, ADS provides vital flow, level, and rainfall monitoring equipment that helps utilities evaluate sewer capacity, optimize billing accuracy, and proactively identify blockages or environmental overflows. Historically, however, the company’s hardware relied on traditional single-carrier SIM cards tied to the two largest U.S. wireless providers. This fragmented framework created severe operational bottlenecks. Devices provisioned for a single carrier frequently encountered dead zones or weak signals underground, leading to data gaps. Furthermore, as ADS expanded internationally, every new region demanded a distinct carrier relationship, a separate billing account, and a unique management interface.

To break free from this administrative and technical gridlock, ADS partnered with KORE, a global leader in Internet of Things (IoT) solutions, deploying the KORE OmniSIM platform. By integrating this advanced eSIM technology—which combines eUICC/eSIM and multi-IMSI capabilities with over-the-air (OTA) provisioning and automatic network failover—ADS transformed its global operations.

The business impacts have been profound:

• 65% reduction in administrative costs associated with SIM management.
• 30% decrease in avoidable field service visits to troubleshoot connectivity drops.
• 75% overall reduction in operational expenses tied to wireless management.
• Seamless international expansion supported by a single, standardized hardware SKU that can connect to 502 mobile networks across 202 countries.

This strategic deployment earned recognition through the KORE OmniSIM Business Impact Award, illustrating how horizontal IoT connectivity can fundamentally streamline critical infrastructure management at scale.

The Chronology of a Connectivity Transformation

The journey from a fragmented, multi-carrier infrastructure to a unified global IoT ecosystem did not happen overnight. It required a meticulously planned, two-track implementation strategy that balanced ongoing manufacturing needs with the migration of an already deployed legacy fleet.

Phase 1: Diagnosing the Limitations of Legacy Cellular

Long before the partnership with KORE, ADS relied on a patchwork of domestic and international network operators. Each time a sensor was manufactured for deployment in a new municipality or country, logistics teams had to forecast which local carrier would provide the most reliable coverage. If a device was shipped to a region with weak coverage from that specific carrier, field operators had no dynamic way to switch networks.

As international operations scaled into the UK and Australia, the complexity multiplied. Managing distinct carrier accounts required separate billing cycles, custom API integrations, and specialized troubleshooting protocols for regional support teams. The hidden costs weren’t just reflected in monthly airtime bills; they rippled through manufacturing plants, warehouse inventory planning, software support desks, and costly "truck rolls" where technicians had to physically access manholes or remote sites simply to reboot or swap a non-responsive SIM card.

Phase 2: Selecting and Integrating KORE OmniSIM

Recognizing that patching together regional roaming agreements was unsustainable, ADS initiated a comprehensive search for a single, globally scalable connectivity partner. They selected KORE OmniSIM for its robust multi-network architecture.

OmniSIM leverages eUICC and multi-IMSI capabilities, allowing a single embedded SIM to dynamically connect to the strongest available cellular network regardless of geography. Backed by KORE ConnectivityPro—a centralized cloud-based management platform—the technology gave ADS unprecedented visibility and control over its entire global device estate.

Phase 3: Standardizing Manufacturing and Production

The first operational track of the deployment focused on future-proofing new hardware. ADS integrated the OmniSIM directly into its manufacturing assembly lines. Instead of producing region-specific variants of flow and level monitors, the company shifted to a single-SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) manufacturing model. Whether a device was destined for a subterranean interceptor in Chicago, a municipal network in London, or a stormwater system in Sydney, it rolled off the assembly line with identical, globally capable connectivity hardware. This drastically simplified inventory management and reduced manufacturing overhead.

Phase 4: Migrating the Legacy Fleet

The second track tackled the more daunting task of migrating existing, deployed devices previously bound to U.S. domestic carriers into the new centralized KORE ConnectivityPro ecosystem. Through careful orchestration, ADS transitioned these legacy units without disrupting ongoing municipal data feeds.

By unifying both new production and legacy infrastructure under one software-defined management pane, ADS eliminated the need to maintain separate operational processes for different geographic regions. Today, the entire estate is managed centrally, allowing operational teams to monitor connection health, execute OTA profiles, and manage device lifecycles from a single dashboard.

Supporting Data and Technical Architecture

The technical architecture underpinning the ADS and KORE deployment is a masterclass in modern industrial IoT (IIoT) design. Wastewater monitoring is notoriously data-intensive and operates in physically hostile environments where radio frequency (RF) propagation is heavily attenuated by concrete, soil, and deep subterranean infrastructure.

The Technology Stack

The architecture relies on a multi-layered stack designed to ensure continuous, resilient data flow:

1. The Edge Hardware Layer: Embedded at the sensor level, KORE OmniSIM hardware resides inside ADS’s physical monitoring units (measuring flow, level, and rainfall).
2. The Dynamic Connectivity Layer: OmniSIM automatically scans and locks onto the strongest available mobile network from a pool of 502 partner networks across 202 countries. If a primary network degrades or suffers an outage, the system executes an automatic failover to a secondary local profile without requiring physical intervention.
3. The Centralized Management Layer: All connected devices report back through KORE ConnectivityPro, a software platform providing real-time analytics on data usage, signal strength, connectivity status, and lifecycle provisioning.
4. The Analytics and Application Layer: Operating smoothly above the communications pipeline is ADS’s proprietary suite of cloud software and machine learning tools, including:
   • PRISM Cloud Software: For centralized data visualization and reporting.
   • FlowSIGHT Program: For comprehensive sewer system monitoring.
   • Blockage PREDICT: An advanced machine-learning analytics engine designed to forecast potential pipe blockages and overflows before they impact local communities.

Quantifying the Business Impact

In industrial automation, technology investments are ultimately judged by their bottom-line impact and operational efficiency gains. The metrics achieved by ADS validate the power of a unified connectivity strategy:

• 65% Reduction in Administrative Costs: By consolidating dozens of carrier contracts and billing interfaces into a single KORE relationship, the administrative burden on finance and IT teams plummeted.
• 30% Reduction in Field Visits: Automated failover and robust multi-network coverage virtually eliminated instances where devices went "dark" due to localized carrier outages, sparing field technicians from unnecessary, hazardous, and expensive underground service calls.
• 75% Lower Wireless Management Costs: Streamlined inventory management, a single-SKU manufacturing process, and centralized lifecycle control combined to slash the total cost of ownership for cellular operations.

Official Responses and Industry Perspective

The success of the deployment has drawn praise from leadership at both organizations, highlighting the strategic importance of reliable connectivity in municipal infrastructure management.

Kristen Daye, Product Manager at ADS Environmental Services, emphasized the foundational role that robust cellular infrastructure plays in delivering high-value insights to municipal clients:

"KORE has played a vital role in scaling the ADS Network by delivering dependable and adaptable cellular connectivity. OmniSIM enables our devices to transmit data securely in real time so our customers can remain connected and informed around the world, no matter how remote or challenging the monitoring environment might be."

Industry analysts have similarly lauded the collaboration, pointing out that wastewater management is a sector where technology failures can have immediate environmental and financial consequences. When a remote sensor loses connection, municipal operators lose visibility into critical system capacities, potentially missing the early warning signs of a sanitary sewer overflow (SSO). By transforming cellular connectivity from a high-maintenance utility into a reliable, self-healing background service, KORE and ADS have raised the bar for reliability in critical infrastructure IoT.

Implications for the Future of Critical Infrastructure IoT

The triumph of the ADS Environmental Services and KORE partnership offers a blueprint for other sectors managing distributed, mission-critical assets across international borders. As cities grow smarter and the demands on municipal infrastructure intensify, the reliance on IoT data will only accelerate.

1. The Death of Regional Silos

For decades, global industrial manufacturers struggled with the "SIM card problem"—the necessity of sourcing local telecom contracts for every country of operation. The widespread adoption of eUICC and multi-IMSI eSIM technologies like KORE OmniSIM signals the end of this fragmented era. Companies can now design, build, and deploy connected products on a truly global scale without redesigning the communications subsystem for each regional market.

2. Shifting from Reactive to Proactive Operations

The reduction in field visits reported by ADS highlights a broader trend in industrial maintenance: the transition from reactive firefighting to proactive, software-driven management. When connectivity issues are resolved autonomously via over-the-air provisioning and network failover, engineering talent is liberated from mundane troubleshooting. Instead, resources can be redirected toward high-value tasks, such as refining machine-learning predictive analytics and helping municipalities optimize their clean-water and wastewater networks.

3. Elevating Connectivity to a True Utility

In critical infrastructure, the most successful technology is invisible. When sensors and monitoring networks operate with the seamless reliability of running water or grid electricity, organizations can focus entirely on their core mission. By turning wireless connectivity into a dependable utility, KORE OmniSIM has empowered ADS to deliver uninterrupted environmental monitoring, ensuring that communities around the globe remain protected, compliant, and informed.