Fast-rising energy prices are driving the mobile industry to explore alternative energy sources – such as solar, wind and biofuels – that can power basestations, according to reports this week. Reuters states that Celtel, the African business of Kuwait’s Mobile Telecommunications (Zain), is switching a number of its sites to a technology similar to the one used in hybrid cars. “You can reduce your diesel consumption by about 55 percent using this technology,” said Celtel’s chief executive Chris Gabriel. Meanwhile, equipment vendor Huawei claims its latest basestations consume 47 percent less energy and can be powered by solar panels and a wind turbine, with energy stored in batteries for backup. With less cooling required (it can withstand temperatures up to 55 degrees Celsius), Huawei says the total cost of ownership is 30 percent lower. Rival Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) this week showed a low-power product for covering villages with a mobile phone signal, which can be also be powered by solar panels. Apart from consuming less energy, NSN claims the capital spend for the product is about a tenth that of a normal mobile phone basestation.

Tom Phillips, chief government and regulatory affairs officer at the GSM Association, told BBC World Service’s Digital Planet programme that alternative sources of power can have huge benefits compared to networked electricity or diesel generation. “When you look at the cost of putting a new basestation in to cover a group of villages, you’re looking not only at the cost but of the road, of the electricity, and so on. The costs can multiply many times.” Phillips added that he was hopeful that the development of more basestations using alternative fuel sources would provide a source of income for the communities “as they manage the production of those fuels and secure the basestation at the same time.”