Openreach: Fiber Can Sniff Out Leaky Water Pipes – if Anyone Bothers Fixing Them
14th March 2026
Openreach claims its fiber network infrastructure can detect leaks in nearby water supply pipes, which could save millions of liters of the precious fluid… if the water companies can be bothered to fix them.
The infrastructure arm of Britain’s former state-owned telco BT says it has conducted a trial with Affinity Water and the developer of the technology, Lightsonic.
According to Openreach, the pilot demonstrated that its fiber-optic cables can double as sensors to detect and pinpoint any leaks from water pipes in the surrounding subterranean environment.