African mobile service (cell phone) providers tap into solar energy

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http://news.idg.no/cw/art.cfm?id=2C218228-17A4-0F78-31B01CE5CDEFFD7D

Skrevet av Michael Malakata
27.05.2008 kl 20:27 | IDG News Service

African mobile service providers tap into solar energy

African mobile-service providers are tapping into solar energy to power base stations and connect users in remote areas to mobile networks.

African mobile-service providers are tapping into solar energy to power base stations and connect users in remote areas to mobile networks.

Africa's largest mobile telecommunication company MTN (Mobile Telecommunication Network) and the east African regional service provider Safaricom are using solar energy and bio-fuel, they have announced. MTN operates in 21 African countries, including Zambia, Uganda, Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa.

Lack of access to electricity in rural areas has always been blamed for sparse mobile connectivity in more remote parts of Africa. Mobile service providers have also been unwilling to invest in some areas that have electricity because frequent power failures increase costs.

Solar-energy-powered base stations are already used in Malawi and Morocco where telecommunication equipment manufacturer Ericsson has developed solar-powered base stations for rural areas without access to electricity. And in Namibia the country's mobile telecommunication company, MTC, is trying solar-powered base stations as well.

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