Market Needs

As telecoms operators seek the next billion subscribers over the next five years, their focus is shifting to developing markets from which, according to Pyramid Research, 90% of new subscribers will come.

Extending the network in these markets is a challenge; there is no electricity grid infrastructure or in some cases connection to an unreliable grid. For some wireless operators 70% of the trouble tickets are power related and often the only option is to send an engineer to site. When the power goes it takes time to resolve and valuable network revenue is lost.

The common option is to run a diesel generator 24/7 and live with the problems of diesel supply in remote areas, as well as theft and network downtime due to power outages. In addition, excessive generator wear and tear due to sub-optimal runtime loads (e.g. a 17kVA generator powering a 2kW telecoms load) results in increased servicing and decreased operating life – meaning that the generator needs to be replaced frequently.

The problems associated with blackouts or brownouts in a network with an unreliable grid present another set of challenges. The common approach is to use a battery bank with a fuel cell or a diesel generator for power back-up. However, with no management or control platform the performance is improved but not optimised for performance or equipment lifetime.