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Greater role for green telecoms as rural mobile uptake increase exponentially
Alternative energy crucial as such markets are outside the national grid
by Ek Heng, Asia-Pacific Correspondent
With strong growth in new cell site developments, Asia Pacific will be the leading region for green mobile expenditures which is projected to reach US$80.8 billion globally by 2013, according to a report by Pike Research.
The report said that the migration to green telecoms by mobile network operators are being driven by the desire for lower energy operating expenses, corporate social responsibility initiatives as well as government mandate. It forecasts that the green movement will result in the reduction of network carbon emission by 42 percent by 2013.
Energy efficiency and cost savings aside, telcos with long-term view amidst growing consumer concerns for the environment will want to differentiate themselves from the competition.
Many possible solutions but pending commercialization
There is no lack of solutions ranging from environment-friendly materials such as prototype wooden handsets to temperature-controlled cooling cabinets as well as developments in ammonia-based power generator and hydrogen-based phone charger, many of which are esoteric and in experimental stages.
In developing countries where much of the impending growth will come from under-served rural areas with limited or no access to the national grid, the need for alternative energy becomes critical for both telcos with infrastructure and mobile subscribers looking to charge their handsets.
As it stands, the proliferation of diesel-powered base stations in the rural areas give rise to safety and environmental concerns as well as cost considerations involving transport and storage of the fossil fuel. However, some commercial applications tapping on solar and wind power are already coming onstream. According to market research firm, In-Stat, there will be over 230,000 cellular base stations in developing countries running on solar or wind power by 2013. Growing at 30 percent each year, such off-grid base stations are to be found in Africa, South Asia, South America and the Caribbean.
At a corporate level, telcos in Asia recognize the importance of going green. One example is South Korea’s KT Corp which has allocated US$119.4 million for eco-friendly measures that include energy-saving technologies and other environmental friendly programs. The eco-friendly services being promoted by this telco extends from cloud computing, green Internet data centers to green mobile communications and smart grids, with other leading Asian telcos also at different stages in implementing similar programs.
Solar powered phones for rural users
Studies by the GSM Association show that a 10 percent growth in mobile phone subscriptions leads to a 1.2 percent increase in GDP. This is good news especially for the farmer or fishermen who can use their cellular services to negotiate prices and delivery schedules but a limiting factor has been the lack of electrical power to charge standard handphones.
Global mobile phone makers like ZTE, Nokia and Samsung are manufacturing solar powered mobile phones to satisfy pent-up demand for this niche sector estimated by development groups to number more1.5 billion people without electricity, and one billion with limited access to electricity.
And where there is great demand, there will be manufacturers, in this case, Suntrica from Finland which produces solar powered personal chargers for mobile phones. Compared with conventional photovoltaic cells, Suntrica says its products use next generation technologies, thereby requiring less energy and raw materials during the manufacturing process.
Different approach for telcos targeting users outside population centers
Recognizing a different approach is crucial for telcos to succeed in the rural areas, India-based VNL spent five years to develop the world’s first solar powered GSM base station which won the second prize in the “green network hardware and infrastructure’ category at the 2009 CTIA E-Tech awards in 2009.
Doing away with diesel generator, the rugged system by VNL uses only solar power requiring just 50-120W instead of the standard 3000W. It has near zero maintenance, is priced at a quarter of the standard GSM station and can be deployed by non-engineers. The much lower overheads make it viable for telcos to set up infrastructure and operate mobile services in rural areas where the average revenue per user is very low.
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