First customer based trial of Motorola’s
innovative wind and solar cell site solution 
BARCELONA, Spain – 3GSM World Congress 2007 – 12 February 2007 – Motorola,
Inc. (NYSE:MOT) today announced that it has signed an agreement with the GSM
Association (GSMA) and MTC Namibia to conduct a trial for wind and solar power
systems to support the African operator’s remote GSM cell sites. This is the
first customer based trial globally and the trial is expected to run from April
2007 to July 2007.
The trial involves the installation of the Motorola wind and solar solution at
an operational MTC Namibia cell site where the solution will become the
electrical power source for the site. The cell site will remain a part of MTC
Namibia’s current wireless network and continue to carry the same levels of
traffic.
This ‘green’ solution provides a feasible and efficient alternative to using
fuel generators when a main grid connection is not available or it will take
months or years to connect or finally, where electricity tariffs are expected
to rise sharply in the next few years. Once installed, the cost of power is
almost zero, and wind and solar powered cell sites require minimal maintenance
unlike a diesel driven generator which generally requires, at a minimum, a
monthly visit for refuelling and they can also be heavily prone to theft. This
translates into added savings in operating expenditure (OPEX), a key factor to
emerging market network operators.
Mr. José Ferreira, managing director of MTC Namibia said, “We are confident
that this trial will support our market growth strategy and enable us to extend
our network coverage into the more rural parts of Namibia - where electricity
is not always a viable option - quickly, efficiently and with a reliable
solution. Motorola’s innovation and design expertise will enable wind and solar
solutions to be deployed in an optimal format for wireless cellular networks.”
Dawn Hartley, development fund manager at the GSMA said: “Off-grid connectivity
is a key challenge for Operators, in particular in developing world markets,
and until cost-effective, practical solutions are commonplace, the digital
divide will persist. The GSMA is therefore committed to piloting alternative
energies for powering base stations, and we are delighted to be involved in
this trial in Namibia.”
Stefano Mattiello, regional sales director, Sub-Saharan Africa, Motorola
Networks & Enterprise, said “Motorola’s heritage in innovative
communication networks is being applied in optimising this type of solution for
rural areas and it’s very exciting that we have the first trial anywhere in the
world here in Africa. The solution will successfully combine with other power optimisation
features for GSM cell sites that are currently in development and although the
trial is being done on a GSM network the technology can be applied to any
wireless network in an off-grid scenario.”
This announcement follows Motorola’s successful UK trial in 2006, which
demonstrated the feasibility of alternative power systems to support remote GSM
base stations (BTS). The trial concluded that a combination of solar cells and
wind turbines can generate 1,200 watts in a continual cycle; enough to drive a
mid-sized BTS and support a microwave backhaul installation.
Powering GSM cell sites in both developed and emerging markets is a challenge
for operators because of the high cost or difficulty of provisioning mains
electrical power. Motorola’s green-powered BTS, part of the company’s Reach GSM
portfolio, can replace or reduce the load on mains power and can also remove
the need for power generators that require continual re-fueling and security.
Source: Motorola press release
