The Energy Challenge

A small news item that must have gone mostly unnoticed could pave way for big
changes in the telecom industry, both for vendors as well as service providers.
But most importantly this could bring a big relief in the life of consumers and
citizens of India at large. A leading telecom networks integrator and manager
has now seen sense in energy management and tied up with a Gurgaon-based
company. Actually this arrangement is for the global market, which means that
energy management for operators is not just a concern in emerging economies like
India, but a global concern.

What this means is that operators, in all their future upgradation as well as
expansion plans, will have the option to go for energy efficient passive
infrastructure solutions including radio networks. These solutions are claimed
to have helped operators to reduce energy consumption at cell sites.

At a time when the average revenue per user is coming down, running costs of
networks also need to rationalize. Operators are well aware that their next
phase of rollouts will happen in semi-urban and rural areas, where, on the one
hand, the power availability situation will be much more challenging, and at the
other, networks will have to be such that they can sustain consumers who will be
paying lesser and lesser.

For the metros and urban geographies, managing telecom network infrastructure
is already under severe pressure. For instance, the rent for cell towers is just
too high and going up everyday. Ensuring regular and smooth power supply, and
constant maintenance and security of the tower, is painful. On top of all this,
there is a lot of resentment building up among consumers and civic groups
because of the pollution it causes. A solution that requires less power and
therefore less pollution will always be welcome, and earn people's goodwill.

Obviously this is the first step, and will not be very simple to successfully
implement. India, being the vast and often disparate country that it is, will
require a lot of localization. Operators who are running telecom networks in
Tamil Nadu, which is a very hot and humid zone and is high in electricity
availability, will have different requirements from operators who have networks
in Rajasthan and western UP that are hot and dry, with not a very great
electricity supply record. All those vendors who offer energy efficient telecom
solutions will need to do quite a bit of indigenization.

While in the past there have been lots of areas where equipment vendors and
operators have not really worked closely in developing new technologies and
products, this would be one area where cooperation between the two will be of
prime importance. Operators will need to very clearly spell out the requirements
of emerging markets so that a wide range of products and solutions that
effectively address their cost efficiency and energy management challenges can
be developed.