CSL has been named a finalist in two categories at The Security & Fire Awards for Excellence 2026: Security Project of the Year, alongside SECOM and Whitbread, and Security Partnering Initiative of the Year, alongside SecuriPlex and Severn Trent. Winners will be announced on 30 November 2026. Both entries showcase successful projects as part of a wider shift in security technology: moving from ageing analogue lines to resilient, future-ready connectivity ahead of the PSTN switch-off.
Security Project of the Year: 850+ Hotels Migrated Without a Gap in Cover
Whitbread appointed SECOM to lead a migration moving staff safety, alarm signalling and CCTV at more than 850 Premier Inn hotels from analogue PSTN lines to digital, IP-based connectivity, with CSL providing the connectivity layer at every site. Every hotel stayed live and occupied, with no gap in staff safety, intruder or CCTV cover at any point. All sites now run on CSL’s dual-path connectivity, so if the primary network path fails, a second path takes over automatically.
Dan Wilkinson, Technical Director, SECOM Plc, commented:
“For a programme of this scale and complexity, we needed a connectivity partner we could rely on completely. CSL’s expertise in critical environments and their dual-path architecture gave us the foundation to deliver without compromise.”
Read more on how Whitbread and SECOM kept 850+ Premier Inn hotels protected through the PSTN switch-off.
Security Partnering Initiative of the Year: One Standard for Severn Trent’s Remote Sites
The second entry covers CSL’s work with SecuriPlex for Severn Trent across hundreds of remote, often unmanned pumping stations and treatment works where fixed line connectivity is unreliable or unavailable. CSL designed a standard cellular architecture of dual-SIM resilience, encrypted VPN tunnels and full network segregation, and SecuriPlex integrated it with intruder detection, CCTV and access control on site. One agreed blueprint meant every site was rolled out to the same standard.
Kevin Marshall, Utilities Director, SecuriPlex, commented:
“The connectivity challenge on a project like this can make or break the whole deployment. CSL’s architecture gave us a solid, secure foundation to build on and that made the integration of alarms, CCTV and access control significantly more straightforward across the estate.”
Read more about how Severn Trent and SecuriPlex secured hundreds of remote water sites.
The two finalist entries build on CSL’s previous results at these awards, with VoiceLink winning Security or Fire IoT Solution of the Year in 2024 and CSL’s partnership with Dual-Stream and Waitrose taking Best Artificial Intelligence Technology Application in 2025.
CSL wishes the best of luck to all of this year’s finalists ahead of the ceremony.
For over 30 years, CSL has been a leading European provider of Critical Connectivity, delivering fully managed IoT solutions that support life, mission and business-critical applications.
