Seamless Radio SCADA Migration in Morocco

How do you upgrade hundreds of critical utility sites in a 1.7-million-person city—without interrupting services or ripping out legacy systems? In Fez, Morocco, RADEEF did it with RipEX2.

As Morocco’s second-largest city, Fez relies on RADEEF, its regional utility provider, to deliver stable water and electricity services. But RADEEF’s communication infrastructure—built on outdated radio modems using serial connections—was no longer compliant with new national cybersecurity requirements.

The utility needed a modern, IP-based communication system that would:

• Meet strict security regulations
• Integrate with existing serial-based assets
• Offer high reliability and resilience
• Scale easily across hundreds of sites

The challenge was not only technical—it also involved a phased migration across an active, city-wide utility network without disrupting service.

Following an in-depth evaluation process, RADEEF selected RACOM’s RipEX2 radio modems—chosen for their performance, interoperability, and secure migration features.

Key aspects of the deployment included:

• Base Driven Protocol (BDP) for deterministic, collision-free communication
• DNP3 support for SCADA integration
• Flexible modulation (DPSK to 256 QAM) to optimize throughput and link stability
• Hot Standby (RipEX2-HS) base stations for high availability and redundancy

The migration began with two independent star-topology subnetworks, each with 25 RipEX2 modems. These subnetworks connected to RADEEF’s central control room via additional RipEX2-HS units, providing fault-tolerant communication over a 25 kHz channel width.

RACOM’s migration tools allowed for gradual transition from serial to IP without replacing every device at once—preserving investments and avoiding service downtime.

The collaborative effort between RADEEF engineers, RACOM’s Czech-based specialists, and local integrator SOHIME produced outstanding results:

• Seamless migration with zero service interruption
• High-reliability communications, with most links operating at 64–256 QAM
• Scalability proven: from 50 pilot sites in 2019 to 250+ sites by 2021
• Ongoing expansion plans, including RAy microwave integration for high-throughput SCADA center connections

RADEEF’s transformation sets a new benchmark for modernizing utility infrastructure in North Africa—blending legacy compatibility with cutting-edge IP networking to serve the growing demands of Fez’s urban environment.