A Swedish-Indian start-up that claims to have spent the past four years developing a simplified GSM basestation powered by solar panels and requiring just a fraction of the electricity of typical basestations launched today, reports the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). The company – VNL – has already signed up Indian infrastructure provider, Quippo Telecom Infrastructure Limited (QTIL), for trials, and claims that QTIL aims to rollout a complete commercial network that will be fully integrated with the networks of existing Indian operators. VNL says agreements with several ‘prominent’ operators have been reached and are in the process of being finalised. It believes it offers operators in the developing world the opportunity to provide affordable mobile services to rural people and still turn a profit.

The WSJ report notes that if VNL’s WorldGSM system – which includes basestations, mobile switching centres and a basestation controller – takes root, it could make it possible for Indian operators such as Vodafone Essar and Bharti to provide mobile coverage in remote villages at a much lower cost and more quickly. Unlike equipment giants such as Ericsson and Alcatel-Lucent, which have already installed solar-powered and biofuel basestations in Africa and India, VNL claims its WorldGSM basestation requires only up to 120 watts to run; about the same as a light bulb. Traditional electricity-powered GSM basestations cost anywhere from US$40,000 to US$100,000 and require up to 3,000 watts of power. The WSJ report adds that VNL’s basestation will cost US$3,500 and the technology is designed to make it easy for people with little professional training to install.