In the past, when the power distribution network cable suffered a power outage, the power supply personnel needed to find the fault by using manual inspection. The whole process of power recovery takes from a few hours to 10+ hours. Not only users in the fault area cannot use electricity, but users who are not in the fault area may also be affected by the power outage.

The operation of the distribution network automation system based on IoT technology has solved this problem.

The distribution network automation system can automatically judge cable faults, quickly locate the fault area, isolate the fault point, and complete the self-healing power recovery. The power recovery duration is shortened from hours to minutes, which improves the efficiency of power distribution operation and maintenance and the reliability of power supply. At the same time, after the fault point is isolated, the distribution network automation system can automatically recover the normal power supply of users who are not in the fault area, implementing zero awareness of power outages by users.

Industrial routers are widely used in various sites of distribution network systems, such as switch stations, power distribution rooms, power distribution rooms, utility poles, and ring main units. Industrial routers work with DTUs, FTUs, and other power distribution terminals to complete the collection and calculation of the position signals, voltage, current, power, electric energy, and other data of the field switch equipment by the dispatching master station, as well as the remote switch-off and switch-on of the field switches to implement fault identification and isolation of distribution network cables and recovery of power supply to non-fault areas.

In the early days, wired optical fibers were mainly used for communications with the distribution network dispatching master station. Although dispatchers could remotely control switches, there were problems such as high material and labor costs, difficult construction and O&M, and difficulty in covering all equipment terminals. With the development of wireless cellular networks, 2G/3G/4G/5G wireless communications methods have been widely used in the field of distribution networks. The characteristics of 5G network high speed (eMBB), low latency (uRLLC), and massive connectivity (mMTC) can help the development of distribution network automation, improve the reliability and quality of power supply, shorten the incident handling time, and reduce the scope of power outages.

• The use of 5G network wireless connections can help reduce the cost of wired materials and construction and the consumption of manpower and material resources in the early stage.
• The later maintenance is more convenient. There is no wired optical fibers, and there is no fear of communications cables being damaged.
• The high performance of 5G networks fully meets the on-site business requirements, ensuring efficient, secure, and stable interactions of business data between the terminal DTU and the master station.
• The upgrade function is reserved. If encryption reconstruction is required later, the distribution network encryption function can be implemented by using 5G routers.

Neoway collaborates with Xiamen Four-Faith, a well-known IoT communications technology solution provider in the industry. The industrial router developed based on Neoway's 5G module N510M has been applied to the distribution network automation technical solution. N510M runs on a 5G network that features a network latency of less than 10 milliseconds and a gigabit throughput, greatly improving the management level and work efficiency of the power distribution system, reducing maintenance costs, and improving the user service level.

Neoway N510M is the industry's first 5G module based on the UNISOC platform:

• N510M supports SA and NSA networking and is downward compatible with 4G and 3G networks. Terminal products can also work properly without 5G network coverage.
• N510M supports the peak data transmission rate of 1.95 Gbps, and supports key regions and mainstream frequency bands around the world.
• N510M supports network slicing to meet the hierarchical applications of 5G dedicated networks for different services.
• N510M supports 5G B code high-precision timing, with the timing precision of less than 1 μs, which meets the industry's extreme requirements for clock synchronization.
• N510M supports various regulations of the power industry, greatly simplifying the integration and development of power applications.

In the field of IoT wireless communications, Neoway has been deeply involved in China's power industry since 2009, and has been No.1 in China's power IoT market for 13 consecutive years. Neoway also ranks first in the India power market. No matter in the 2G, 3G, and 4G era, or today's 5G era, Neoway products have been iterating with the power industry. Today, Neoway's 5G products have been the first to be used in industrial routers, energy controllers, integrated terminals, FTUs, and other terminals in the power industry. Neoway products provide stable, reliable, and secure communications guarantee for customers and users to further improve the efficiency of power operation.