Vnl: Solar-power Gsm Ready To Serve Remote, Rural Areas !

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VNL: Solar-power GSM ready to serve remote, rural areas

Developing Telecoms, 08 Aug 2008 at 00:00

VNL, an Indian telecom equipment vendor, is claiming to have re-engineered GSM in order to help operators provide affordable mobile telephony to new customers in rural markets. The company is quoting energy requirements of 50W and 120W to operate, compared to 3,000W for a typical GSM base station.

Telecom equipment vendor VNL believes it "has finally cracked the problem facing mobile operators in the developing world: how to provide affordable mobile services to rural people - and still turn a profit." Using solar-powered GSM systems, VNL is also stating that it "will change the telecoms market in rural areas across the world."

For years, operators and GSM equipment vendors have struggled with the same problem, namely that traditional GSM was not designed for the unique challenges posed by vast rural areas. It costs too much, is too expensive to run, uses too much power and is too difficult to deploy (especially in areas with no electricity, poor roads and no skilled engineers). VNL's further claim is that it has "re-engineered GSM technology to reduce its power requirement and make it suitable for a rural environment where electricity is scarce or unavailable."

These are bold claims - and Developing Telecoms is publishing them with appropriate caveats. VNL’s WorldGSM system includes base stations that "only need between 50W and 120W of power to operate, compared to 3,000 W for a typical GSM base station." The WorldGSM base station is entirely powered by solar energy with a 72 hour battery back-up in place (also charged by solar power). It is in turn coupled with a rural-optimised MSC (Mobile Switching Centre), and a compact BSC (Base Station Controller) – making WorldGSM a complete, end-to-end GSM network.

Thanks to solar power, WorldGSM "reduces the operating expenses for mobile operators - and contributes to a much lower environmental impact." VNL has estimated that mobile networks in India alone require 2 billion litres of diesel every year to power back-up diesel generators.

India-based Luke Thomas, from the research and consulting company Frost & Sullivan, says: “India is the fastest growing telecoms market in the world but some urban areas have already reached saturation point. VNL has opened up a whole new area of subscriber and revenue growth for operators by building a commercial – and profitable – GSM system to service remote low-density rural areas.”

Indian infrastructure provider Quippo Telecom Infrastructure Limited (QTIL) will be trialling WorldGSM in rural areas of India in the near future. Following the successful completion of the trial, QTIL expects to roll out a complete commercial network that will be fully integrated with the networks of existing operators. Agreements with several prominent operators have been reached and are in the process of being finalised.

VNL CEO, Anil Raj, who founded Hutch India in 1994 and served as its CEO before moving to Ericsson as President of its India operations, comments: “Telecoms operators and equipment manufacturers have traditionally failed to deliver GSM to rural areas for the simple reason that it’s just too difficult and ultimately not sustainable. There’s no power, no engineers, no infrastructure, a difficult terrain, low density – and, most importantly, low subscriber revenues...”

[pasumark 51]

That is a revolution. It is very much suitable to India and is also very much environment friendly. Kudos

[Greatest 55]

Well its a great information...!!

[rajanmehta 4,056]

Solar Powered Gsm Tower For Indian Villages

Low Cost,Wi-Fi,GSM,Can Be Used by ISP's Also

VNL has created a low cost mobile and GSM tower which enables telecom operators and ISPs to cost effectively launch services in rural areas. VNL's towers, called WorldGSM, work entirely on solar energy. This translates to zero operating cost.

Do you frequently travel to the villages? If you do, here's some good news. Connectivity in rural areas is expected to improve with Haryana-based telecom solutions company Vihaan Networks Limited's (VNL) new mobile tower, which is cheap and requires no maintenance.

Vihang Networks Website http://www.vnl.in/

Called WorldGSM, VNL's tower provides connectivity for voice and wireless broadband as well.

According to global consultancy group Deloitte, rural India is expected to fuel the growth in mobile phone services over the next four years as cell phones become a vital tool in the government's financial inclusion programme.

However, current mobile towers are powered by diesel generators, which cost as much as Rs 50,000 per month to maintain. As operating cost of telecom in rural regions far exceeds revenue, network providers lack incentive to offer services in these areas.

VNL was the recipient of GSMA's 2010 Green Mobile - Best Green Programme Product or Initiative award for inventing mobile base stations fueled by renewable energy. These towers, called WorldGSM, are small, use solar energy, and are powerful.

VNL's towers not only reduce installation cost and time, and maintenance cost; they also ensure zero operating cost, making rural networks profitable.

WorldGSM mobile towers also create low cost Wifi networks. Each tower installed in a rural area can work as a Wifi hotspot effective over a 500 m radius. Five or six similar towers create a continuous Wifi zone stretching over about 6 km. This enables the network operator to offer Wifi and GSM connectivity to clusters of villages without having to lay cables.

Rajiv Mehrotra, the founder and chief executive officer of VNL, said, "Using our technology, operators can create a viable business model to operate GSM and broadband networks in rural areas."

He added, "95 per cent of tehsils in our country are connected by fiber channel (wired broadband connection). Using our technology, almost the entire country can be provided broadband without the need to lay more cables."

Most villages have an area of less than 200 meter radius, which means that WorldGSM will enable even bigger villages to be connected without the need to install another tower.

VNL showcased its technology to a select group of journalists. They took us to Bhiwandi tehsil in Rajasthan, where they have setup a trial WorldGSM network.

Rajiv said that WorldGSM towers cost as little as Rs 8 lakh, which includes solar panels, batteries, backhaul, GSM antennae and Wifi solution. The tower can be installed in two hours on roof tops without a foundation having to be laid. It has no operation costs either.

WorldGSM towers do not require air-conditioning as there are no moving parts in the setup; because there is no air conditioner, there is no need for a generator either. Solar panels, on which VNL's towers operate, also require only dusting once or twice a week, which can be done by the person on whose premise the tower is installed.

These cell towers offer only 2.5G network. Rajiv said, "Villages right now need to be connected first and 3G is not the requirement. We have included Wifi in our solution as there are low cost devices which work on this network. Wifi is cheaper too as it operators don't need to pay .

VNL's WorldGSM solution is being deployed in Africa, Asia and other developing regions. The company is actively looking for buyers in India and is doing trials with BSNL.

WorldGSM can certainly make a difference in how villages are connected. Every one is gunning to go rural as there is a vast and untapped market there, but current technology is too expensive for the business to be viable".

We believe this technology can not only take broadband to rural areas but also fuel a lot of local enterprise as it enables the setup of micro networks by local entrepreneurs.

Source:Mobile Indian

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