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...”
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