Mobile industry body GSMA said Warid Telecom of Pakistan achieved energy savings of between 30 and 60 percent during the second Mobile Energy Efficiency (MEE) Optimization project.
After rolling out the energy-saving technology across Warid’s network in Pakistan, the annual savings are expected to be more than $6 million and 19,700 tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
Cascadiant was the technology integration partner for the project.
GSMA also announced that Eltek, Enertika, PowerOasis and Purcell Systems joined the GSMA’s MEE program as technology partners to deliver MEE Optimization projects for mobile network operators (MNOs) who wish to reduce their networks’ energy consumption, cost and carbon emissions.
GSMA conducted the project on ten cell sites across Pakistan and trialed the technical solutions on four cell sites. These included Coolsure high efficiency telecom air-conditioners, GE’s Sodium Nickel Chloride Durathon battery and a Ballard methanol fuel cell back-up power system.
Deployment of the solutions across Warid’s network has already begun, with 200 DC (direct current) air-conditioners being installed.
“We now have clear visibility of the significant potential from the MEE Optimisation project and we hope to implement these learnings and solutions network-wide, not only to improve energy and cost efficiency, but also network availability and quality,” said Muhammad Irfan Chaudhry, chief technology officer, Warid Telecom.
Launched in 2010, the GSMA’s MEE Benchmarking service assists MNOs to measure and monitor the relative efficiency of their networks. It identifies under-performing networks and quantifies the potential efficiency gains available, typically around 10 to 25 per cent across a MNO’s portfolio.
More than 35 MNOs, running more than 200 networks across 145 countries, are now participating in MEE Benchmarking.
GSMA estimates that electricity and diesel consumed by mobile networks globally is responsible for around 70 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually and that MNOs spend up to $15 billion on energy use each year.
