Motorola has signed an agreement with the GSM Association (GSMA) and MTC Namibia to test a hybrid wind and solar power system to drive GSM cell sites.
Speaking yesterday at the 3GSM World Congress, in Spain, Motorola regional sales director for sub-Saharan Africa Stefano Mattiello said the system will support sites in rural areas and the trial is expected to run from April to July. Thereafter, commercial roll-out will commence, should the project prove successful.
Mattiello explained that Motorola developed the technology over the last two years, in a bid to overcome challenges related to providing basic telephonic services in emerging markets. This will remove the high cost of power within what are essentially low-average revenue per user markets.
For the trial, the solution will be installed at an MTC Namibia site for which it will supply electrical power. The site will remain part of the operator's wireless network and carry normal levels of traffic.
MTC GM of operations Jochen Traut told journalists the solution would overcome the problem of inadequate electrification in remote rural areas, as well as prove to be more cost-efficient in the long-term. The cost of electricity in Namibia is expected to increase by between 30% and 40% over the next few years, and the region simply does not have enough electricity generation capacity, he added.
Traut noted the construction of a single site would cost between R1.5 million and R2 million (or Namibian dollars). However, these costs could increase, depending on the remoteness and accessibility of a site. MTC Namibia currently provides coverage for 92% of the country's population, and has 620 000 subscribers, he noted. The alternative power solution could realistically push this number up to about 750 000, Traut added.
Should the solution be launched commercially, said Mattiello, the advantage is that it has the ability to power any of Motorola's technologies, such as 3G and WiMax.
GSMA Development Fund manager Dawn Hartley said the project fell under the organisation's portfolio to seek alternative power for GSM networks. It is looking for alternative power sources, such as biofuels, in various other emerging markets.
The Motorola-MTC project is seen as a global trial and the solution will subsequently be taken to any market where there is a demand for it, said Hartley.
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