International mobile operator Vodafone and Alcatel-Lucent this morning announced the launch of a pilot site that uses a hybrid of solar and wind energy.
The mast, located on the border between Saudi Arabia and the state of Qatar, is the first commercial site of its kind to be developed by Alcatel-Lucent. The initiative is part of a wider green technology programme led by Vodafone Group to deploy green energy sources in all of its affiliates worldwide.
Jenny Howe, CTO of Vodafone Qatar, says the solution “increases the availability and quality of mobile services to the end customer, while reducing the impact on the environment”.
She adds: “It is one of the most innovative and best-performing solutions that we have tested so far in Vodafone.”
The trial site is a step towards finding viable alternative energy solutions that can be implemented elsewhere in the Vodafone Group. It will enable the expansion of mobile communication to areas not served by electrical grids, as well as reduce both operating expenses and environmental impact.
Cost savings
Howe explains that the technology reduces diesel use by up to 90%. While diesel is not expensive in the oil- and gas-rich state of Qatar, the fuel is a large input cost in other emerging markets.
However, the solution does make it easier to build masts in geographically-distant locations, which makes refuelling diesel generators impractical, she says.
“Vodafone has many sites that are literally built in the desert,” Howe notes. She explains that the technology will be applied to other countries in which Vodafone has a network. The company plans to roll-out the technology across Qatar once it has fully understood how it works.
African possibilities
Olaf Heinkel, Vodafone Qatar's head of mobile enablement, says the subsidiary is in close cooperation with the Vodafone Group, and it is likely this solution will be implemented in other countries in which the operator has a network.
Locally, Vodacom has about 100 base stations that are running on hydrogen fuel, and another that is using methanol water for power.
Etienne Gerber, manager of the company's cost reduction programme, says the operator is seeking to grow such sites over the next few years.
He explains that Vodacom is part of Vodafone's global initiative to seek alternative energy sources. Vodacom is one of five members of the Green Technology Expert Group, Gerber says.
The company is researching alternative energy, but one challenge it faces in Africa is that solar panels get stolen, Gerber points out.
Investment return
Vodafone Qatar CEO Grahame Maher adds that the group is also considering the solution for other emerging economies, such as India, China and South America. “I can see a future where large parts of the whole network run on alternative energy.”
The return on investment for the site is between two and four years, explains Rambod Daghigh, Alcatel-Lucent VP of innovation and portfolio management in the Network Integration Services division.
The company is targeting 100 000 sites of this kind globally by 2012, he adds.
While currently limited to low-energy base stations, Alcatel-Lucent is looking to expand the technology for use in areas such as data centres, says Daghigh. The solution is part of Alcatel-Lucent's alternative energy programme that was launched last year.
Vodafone received a mobile licence in Qatar two years ago, becoming the second cellular operator after state-owned Qtel. Qatar has the second highest gross domestic product per person in the world and is an independent state in the Middle East.
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