Meet dstelecom

dstelecom is a wholesale telecommunications operator in Portugal that develops and operates open-access fibre-optic networks. 

We spoke to João Faria, Innovation Manager at dstelecom and head of the K2D project, which marked the beginning of dstelecom’s research journey in underwater monitoring. 

How did the collaboration between dstelecom and INESC TEC come about, and what led to this partnership? 

The first collaboration between dstelecom and INESC TEC initiated during the K2D, a project funded by PT2020. The experience was very positive and ultimately paved the way for further actions. Since then, we have commissioned INESC TEC to provide research services, without public funding, also in fibre-optic sensing. More recently, we joined forces again on the Nau Azul project – focusing on monitoring underwater fibre-optic cables. 

Going back to the origins of this partnership, it all started with discussions around replacing the CAM submarine ring. As a wholesale fibre-optic network operator, we saw an opportunity: we have experience managing networks shared by different operators and felt that this knowledge could add value to the management of an infrastructure of this kind. 

During this process, there was the need to use submarine cables to monitor phenomena such as earthquakes and tsunamis. This was a technological field in which we had no expertise, and that was precisely where K2D came in. We created a consortium bringing together national and international organisations from the scientific and academia communities, with relevant expertise in ocean science and technology. It was in this context that we began working with partners such as INESC TEC and MIT. 

The project ultimately delivered results that we are very proud of, including an experimental open-sea pilot. For us, it also marked the starting point for an entire research journey in this field. 

What potential does dstelecom see in using fibre-optic networks as sensing infrastructure as well? 

Using fibre optics for sensing is not exactly a new technology. It has been studied and documented in the literature for many years, although there are different levels of maturity. 

One area is already quite well established and involves structural monitoring through fibre-optic-based sensors, with specific measurement points along an infrastructure. There is another area, which continues to evolve rapidly, in which the fibre itself acts as a sensor over several kilometres, making it possible to detect small mechanical deformations and vibrations at different points along the cable. 

This second approach has received increasing attention in recent years. Several factors are driving this trend: the cost of optical interrogators has been falling; there is growing demand for solutions to monitor and protect critical infrastructures (also closely linked to the current geopolitical context); and we now have much greater capacity to process and interpret the huge volumes of data generated by these systems, particularly through Artificial Untelligence. 

As a result, more companies are interested in this technology, both as users and as solution providers. From the perspective of organisations that already have fibre deployed, the potential is particularly interesting because it allows them to leverage existing infrastructure and give it an additional function. 

In seismology and oceanography, for example, there is enormous potential for using underwater cables as part of early-warning systems for earthquakes or to monitor the underwater acoustic environment, making it possible to detect phenomena that may not be observable from the surface. 

In transport infrastructures, fibre running alongside motorways or railway lines can be used to create a kind of real-time digital representation of what is happening along these routes. It is possible to identify accidents, changes in vehicle speeds, or the movement of people and animals into areas where they should not be. 

There is also considerable potential in the transport of energy and other resources. The same technology can help physically protect this infrastructure, detect intrusions and identify leaks or other anomalies in gas, oil or water networks. 

It is precisely this diversity of applications that makes the technology particularly interesting to us. 

What were the main challenges and results of applying this technology to submarine cables in the K2D project? 

K2D was a very important project for dstelecom because it marked the beginning of our research journey in underwater monitoring. 

It was also a demanding project: we faced technological challenges, but also logistical and regulatory ones, particularly because testing technologies in a marine environment involves a very different level of complexity from what we were used to. 

In terms of results, I’d highlight the experimental pilots carried out as part of the REPMUS naval exercise. This work culminated in the installation of a submarine cable approximately two kilometres long in the Infante D. Henrique ZLT, in Tróia, something that was only possible with the support of the Portuguese Navy. 

The cable allowed us to test different monitoring technologies under real-world conditions, namely DAS, based on distributed sensing along the fibre, and hydrophones, which operate as sensors at specific points. It was particularly interesting to be able to test both approaches in the same context and compare their performance. 

What contribution has INESC TEC made to dstelecom’s exploration of new technologies and business opportunities? 

Over the years, INESC TEC has had a significant impact as a partner for dstelecom. It features people with very strong technical and research expertise, but who are also easy to work with, and that makes a difference when we are developing projects over several years. 

The marine environment is extremely demanding and has many specific features that we, as a telecommunications company, naturally did not have expertise in. The collaboration allowed us to acquire knowledge in this area in a way that would have been much more difficult and time-consuming on our own. 

But the contribution goes beyond knowledge of the ocean; we’re learned a great deal about new technologies, research methodologies and the market itself. This knowledge is built up over time and is largely the result of being able to work together regularly, discussing specific problems and testing different approaches. 

Looking ahead to the coming years, what new areas or technological challenges would you like to explore together with INESC TEC? 

Over the coming years, one of the main challenges we want to explore with INESC TEC is the further development of the analysis tools associated with DAS (Distributed Acoustic Sensing) so that we can extract increasingly more information from the signals collected by the fibre. 

The technology can generate huge volumes of data; the challenge now is to understand what other variables we can infer from this data and how we can turn them into genuinely useful information. 

This is where we see an opportunity to create new layers of value on top of existing fibre infrastructure and, from there, develop more advanced technological solutions with real-world applications in the market.