SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) data communications systems are wireless or wired control systems generally for critical industrial applications. Examples include flow monitoring at a municipal water plant, remote interconnects for smart grid control, or even leak detection systems. SCADA goes by many names, including M2M - Machine to Machine, or even IOT - Internet of Things. In many ways, SCADA is the IOT’s grandfather.
A critical part of any SCADA system is “data transport layer” or how data signals get to and from the sensor/controller of interest. This is done several ways, each with pros and cons
Probably the biggest advantage of Cellular SCADA is it’s nearly ubiquitous coverage. While some industrial sites have poor coverage, they are becoming fewer and fewer. There are many cellular data modem manufacturers and integrators, like Telit or Multitech.
Cost and Power. If thousands of points are being monitored and controlled, the costs of using cellular backhaul to each endpoint will add up fast! Also, cellular modems are fairly power-hungry, so AC power or solar power (think $) is pretty much a requirement. Another concern of many in the SCADA market is security. If data and control signals are passing over a 3rd party network (like Verizon), there is a greater vulnerability that those signals could be intercepted or manipulated. That’s why many SCADA systems today are still “air-gapped” from the rest of the Internet, meaning they are completely stand-alone systems.
In reality, there’s not a ton of consensus on what exactly the difference is, but if there is a difference, it generally is pointing to the distinction between a full-blown TCP/IP enabled data pipe right to the SCADA controller, vs. a tiny-bits-of-data-in-and-out implementation that often uses point-to-multipoint data aggregators locally before hitting the cellular network.
Link Labs’ Symphony Link - LoRa SCADA system- (shameless plug) is a wireless data telemetry system that is often used in combination with cellular to give wide area coverage to low power endpoints, without the high costs of “cellular to the edge.”
We’d love to hear from you if you’re interested in learning more about Link Labs, Symphony Link, or just want to nerd out on SCADA systems in general.