The Green Power for Mobile (GPM) has successfully convened its Africa Regional Working Group in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania during 12th and 13th August 2014.
The working group was co-hosted by AIRTEL Africa and was attended by 45 people across 30 organizations including MNOs, Tower Cos, ESCOs, vendors, solution integrators, infrastructure partners, government, regulators and development organizations. The working group was followed by GPM technical training on design and business case analysis, which was attended by 16 people.
Key discussions and takeaways:
The working group hosted speakers and discussions around MNO/TowerCo strategies and approaches towards addressing the energy challenges across Africa. MNOs and TowerCos presented case studies around their current green power deployments and OPEX saving initiatives and highlighted some of the learning experiences and challenges. The working group also introduced new technologies and their feasibility for the region including Vanadium Redox Batteries, Hybrid energy systems, and Fuel Cell opportunities and their benefits to MNOs and Tower Cos.
Speakers were invited to present on business models and associated strategic elements around energy outsourcing in telecoms. A focused panel discussion around energy outsourcing business models and the readiness of the industry towards adopting new business models in energy provision is facilitated through inviting both supply side players and MNO/Tower Cos to share their views and concerns around the topic.
Some of the key takeaways from the working group sessions are highlighted below.
- MNOs have been consistently deploying OPEX saving green energy alternatives and energy efficiency initiatives have been taken as a priority to reduce energy consumption of telecom networks.
- There is an increasing shift towards Tower Outsourcing model in the region. Tower Cos are aggressively building their portfolio by constant acquisitions of tower assets from MNOs in the region. Green energy and energy efficiency will become a top priority over the next two years as the asset transfer and operations become stabilized.
- MNOs and Tower Cos expressed concerns about scarcity of local technical resources and local on-the-ground presence of technology vendors and solution providers. This has been impacting the failure resolution times and spare parts availability, and thereby increasing the cost of corrective maintenance.
- MNOs and Tower Cos are positive about continuing investments in green power given the feasibility within the local operating context and strong committed partners. However, Tower Cos will need a strong incentive to reduce OPEX and share the benefits with the MNOs, depending on the pricing and contractual terms between the MNOs and Tower Cos.
- Energy outsourcing is still at a nascent stage in Africa. A proven case study and a win-win business model in energy outsourcing is a must. Committed partners with technical and operational expertise are essential to drive the off-take of energy outsourcing models.
- In order to drive energy outsourcing business models with strengthened credibility, ESCOs need to build strong partnerships in conjunction MNOs/Tower Cos and with other stakeholders including technology providers, operations partners and financial institutions.
- In order to achieve universal access to communications, the regulators and government ministries need to put across encouraging policy framework and guidelines to support the growth of green telecoms in respective countries. There was a strong consensus amongst the industry about the essential regulatory support with fiscal and tax incentives on green power equipment for telecom.
The detailed session-wise discussions and highlights are presented here.
Please reach out to greenpower@gsma.com for any queries and interests.