Power Solutions - the core of Telecom

From all accounts MWC2022 was a bit of a dampener. After a 2-year COVID lockdown, it is not surprising! For a layman, 2 Trends were evident :-

1. On the Sell side, a ?"Network democratization" process has kicked in strongly. There is more buzz around Open RAN, Private Networks, SDN/NFV etc.?as opposed to the business-as-usual buzz around?Nokia, Ericsson, Huawei, etc.

2. On the buy?side, a " 5G/6G Use Case" lobby is slowly taking shape, the lobby seems to be currently led by Meta.

Unfortunately MWC2022?did not showcase any game changer technology around Power Solutions. An under the radar but super critical issue.

An age old challenge has existed around a messy & contradictory set of issues :- ??

Rising Power consumption Vs?Exponential Growth in?Mobile Usage

Net Zero / SBT ?commitments made by Telecom Business Leaders

Identify Practical & Sustainable ?Renewable energy ?solutions for mobile ?sites

Nonionizing radiation fears with rising power budgets of 5G equipment's

Shrinking Capex capabilities

Rising Opex Fears

Mobile network shift towards?frequency bands that are inefficient from power point of view

Telecommunications Tower Companies are ?in a bind. Unable to identify?Truly Effective Technologies, Innovations and solutions that tick all the boxes. Because there is none!

A killer Solution was finally expected when Telecom Giants like Ericsson, Huawei & Nokia entered the humble Power Solutions market. But practical considerations triumphed over design considerations. The proposed power solutions were inelegant. They depended on several factors coming together to create an ideal power situation!

The "ideal power situation"?visualized by the big boys of Telecom ?goes something like this?:- Swap out energy guzzling base stations + replacing with energy efficient base stations + Activating Energy Savings Software across RAN + Optimize locations of base stations such that high traffic (meaning high energy consuming) base stations are not used at low traffic (meaning - low power consuming) areas.

To me, it was simply a clever little exercise to solve 2 problems in one stroke, sell?more base stations & generate a new revenue stream. Nothing was offered towards the Tower Company's?business case !

Some cash rich & shortsighted Telecom Tower Companies did deploy these solutions. Some fell ?back on the usual suspects – DCDG, Solar, Hybrid, Micro wind turbines, etc. (Capex heavy, maintenance heavy and high-risk deployments in some geographies).

What should?be the Overarching strategy for Power Solutions?at Telecom Tower Companies ?

In my view, below 6 points are a good start :- ?

1. Grid Power is the Prime source from a TowerCo Business case POV. Try to Keep it that way. Deploying Renewable solutions with great enthusiasm en masse at sites, generates operational complexities that are potentially business destroying.

2. TowerCo CXOs should not make commitments on Science Based Targets Initiatives or Net Zero initiatives. The commitments must first come from higher up the food chain, i.e. ?tenants & equipment manufacturers.

3. At Site level - always Start Small and ?Start Smart. Begin with Free Cooling Systems, efficient heat extraction, better insulation, use of reflectors, heat resistant designs for cabinets & ?shelters. FRP was a western construct, it may be time to ditch it across heat stressed Africa & Asia.

4. Site level Solar deployments must be discouraged. The practice is inefficient & unsustainable. Instead focus on setting up solar micro grids to serve a group of sites.

5. For Tower Cos, most sites are owned by the public, therefore,?Public Safety must take Priority over all else. Deployment of potentially dangerous solutions such as Hydrogen Fuel Cells must be well thought out. It takes just one catastrophic incident for a TowerCo business to be severely impacted

6. Tower Cos must plan to own microgrids, solar farms, biomass plants, etc. Develop inhouse expertise to manage these power generation facilities. Invest in power transmisison from microgrids to sites. Enter into Power Purchase Agreements with Utilities to sell excess power back & claim credits. Develop inhouse capability for PPA's, power trading, energy wheeling. As CSR, feed back excess power for community usage. This approach remains the best options for Tower Cos in the future.