Yorkshire Water has improved communication between 130 sites using digital networking provided by ntl:Telewest.

The IP virtual private network covers 6000 square miles, helping the utility company to manage 700 water and sewage works and 120 reservoirs.

The project will also pave the way for the deployment of unified communication tools and WiFi connectivity that will help Yorkshire Water staff working in the field.

"The network we’ve deployed provides us with the resilience and flexibility needed to manage and ensure the delivery of our service," said Dave Nussey, network technologies team manager at Yorkshire Water.

"Carrying all traffic on the same network provides significant cost benefits today, but it also provides us with a platform for greater innovation in the application of services."

ntl:Telewest also helped Yorkshire Water successfully transfer its back-end systems to a new data centre in Bradford.