TPG Telecom is building a digital twin of its network infrastructure to predict outages and potentially other kinds of essential service breakdowns during disasters, after picking up a $1.3 million federal grant.
The telco is building the simulation tool with the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and hopes to partner with emergency services agencies and power companies on the project.
The digital twin is intended to provide a virtual recreation of TPG Telecom’s 5G infrastructure based on real-time information from the network and, potentially, from emergency services providers and energy utilities.
TPG Telecom said that the simulation could help it to address environmental risks to its infrastructure and services sooner than the traditional methods.
It would also help the carrier to identify coverage gaps in its network sooner, the spokesperson said.
“It helps operators spot problems early (like flooding near base stations) and act quickly to keep services running,” TPG Telecom’s spokesperson told iTnews.
“This lets us act early by deploying temporary coverage or rerouting traffic, and share insights with emergency responders to improve coordination and reduce downtime”.
The digital twin could also help communities and businesses predict risks like flooding and power outages, the spokesperson added.
TPG Telecom said the digital twin technology could be applied anywhere it has infrastructure, but that it would initially only cover a smaller as yet undefined area of its network footprint for proof-of-concept trials.
TPG Telecom and UTS plan to start developing the tool next year, with trials scheduled to start from July 2026.
It expects to deploy the system in production sometime in 2027.
The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts awarded the grant to TPG Telecom early in October as part of the power resilience round of its Telecommunications Disaster Resilience Innovation Program.
Both UTS and TPG Telecom have previously worked with the NSW SES on digital twin technology projects.
In 2024, the pair trialled a system that used 5G signals as flood sensors to monitor the Parramatta and Georges rivers.
The NSW government funded the projects under its Smart Places Acceleration Program.
Digital twin programs have become more common in recent times.
The technology is also being deployed for land management in Western Australia and broad services, economy and infrastructure monitoring in NSW.