MTC Namibia and Motorola have been short-listed in the category of "Best Use of Mobile for Social and Economic Development" at the GSM Association's Global Mobile Awards 2008.
The award winners will be announced at a ceremony to be held on Tuesday, 12 February 2008 during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
The nomination is for successful wind and solar power system trial conducted together on MTC's GSM network cell site at Dordabis village in the Khomas region of Namibia.
The trial demonstrated the viability of renewable energy sources year-round to enable operators to deliver services in remote rural areas where mains electricity is not available or prohibitively expensive.
A solar array and a wind turbine jointly generated the electrical power needed to drive a mid-sized cell and supporting microwave backhaul at the installation.
This is considered to be the world's first live commercial solar and wind powered macro-cell site deployment that is suitable for deployment in both emerging and mature markets.
Though the MTC Namibia trial was delivered on a GSM network, the Motorola solutions can be applied to other wireless networks that have rural cell site power issues.
For more information on Motorola's renewable energy solutions for powering wireless network cell sites, please visit www.motorola.com/reach/windandsolartrial.
Share
MTC (Mobile Telecommunications Limited) was established in 1995 as a joint venture between Namibia Post and Telecommunications Holdings (NPTH), Telia and Swedfund. During May 2004, NPTH concluded a deal that saw it hold 100% of the shares in MTC by acquiring the 49% held by Telia Overseas AB and Swedfund International AB. NPTH is 100% owned by the government of the Republic of Namibia. On 1 September 2006, the sale of 34% of MTC shares to a strategic/technical partner was concluded with Portugal Telecom which also holds the management contract. www.mtc.com.na
GSMA
Founded in 1987, GSMA is a global trade association representing over 700 GSM mobile phone operators across 218 countries of the world. In addition, more than 200 manufacturers and suppliers support the association's initiatives as associate members.
The primary goals of the GSMA are to ensure mobile phones and wireless services work globally and are easily accessible, enhancing their value to individual customers and national economies, while supporting a competitive environment, creating new business opportunities for operators and their suppliers. The association's members serve more than two billion customers - over 82% of the world's mobile phone users.
The GSMA helps its members develop and launch new services, ranging from mobile instant messaging to video sharing to mobile Internet access, which will work across networks and across national boundaries. At the same time, the GSMA is heavily engaged in the industry's push to extend basic voice and text services to more people in emerging markets.
Motorola
Motorola is known around the world for innovation and leadership in wireless and broadband communications. Inspired by our vision of seamless mobility, the people of Motorola are committed to helping you connect simply and seamlessly to the people, information and entertainment that you want and need. We do this by designing and delivering "must have" products, "must do" experiences and powerful networks -- along with a full complement of support services. A Fortune 100 company with global presence and impact, Motorola had sales of US $42.8 billion in 2006. For more information about our company, our people and our innovations, please visit http://www.motorola.com.
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