Telecom Egypt partners with Huawei Technologies to implement Africa’s first green tower
The tower is approximately 18m high, with a special camouflage fence made of environmentally friendly materials, supported by integrated wireless access solutions and a green solar energy system
Cairo, Egypt: Telecom Egypt, the first integrated operator of communications and information technology services in Egypt, in cooperation with Huawei Technologies, the leading global provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices, announced the implementation of the first eco-friendly, integrated solution to provide mobile networks via utilizing environmentally friendly tower made of Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP), with wireless availability.
Through this cooperation, Telecom Egypt will become the first operator in Egypt and Africa to install this green tower which will serve as the optimum steel alternative, which causes high emissions of carbon dioxide. The tower is approximately 18m high, with a special camouflage fence made of environmentally friendly materials, supported by integrated wireless access solutions and a green solar energy system. The tower is characterized by its high resistance in severe environmental conditions, such as corrosion due to the exposure to chemicals and high temperatures.
The Managing Director and CEO of Telecom Egypt, Adel Hamed, said that the implementation of this type of mobile site in Egypt is unprecedented and has also underscored the efforts done by all those in charge of the project, and their capability of implementing the entire site in a timely manner and a systematic way, as per the best international quality standards that have to do with the green concept solutions.
Mr. Adel further explained that Telecom Egypt’s green external sites also depend on modern technologies for wireless access devices, such as the technology of antennas integrated with signal amplifiers, which contribute to reducing the energy consumption of one site by about 40%, if compared to traditional sites.
According to Mr. Adel, these modern technologies also contribute to improving the signal quality by about 20%, when compared to regular antennas, which will further result in reducing the number of stations to be installed, enhancing the preservation of the environment, and hence achieving the aimed-for sustainable development.
He also added that Telecom Egypt relies on state-of-the-art versions of operating software that support the latest features, pertinent to energy saving, such as the feature of turning off signal amplifiers for some frequencies during low load hours, which helps in reducing energy consumption by an average of 24%.
Jim Liu, CEO of Huawei Egypt confirmed that the company dedicated great attention to developing the infrastructure of Information and Communication Technology in Egypt which is why they have joined hands with Telecom Egypt, the leader in the telecommunications market in Egypt and the Middle East.
He added that Huawei is keen on harnessing all the necessary, innovative technologies to save energy to build a sustainable future, which certainly generates zero carbon emissions. He also pointed out that recent studies have shown that FRP poles produce 43% less carbon dioxide emissions, compared to steel, and reduce E2E energy consumption by nearly half for manufacturers and related transportation.
He also explained that energy solutions for green outdoor sites depend on passive cooling, which eliminates the need for air conditioning and thus leads to a 47% reduction in energy consumption compared to sites with indoor rooms for devices. He also clarified that the process depends on the integration of solar energy with the main electricity network, with relative dependence on green energy, namely the solar one, as the solar panels will provide about 2 kilowatts, which will lead to a reduction of carbon dioxide emissions by 20%.
It is worth mentioning that the goal of developing an environmentally friendly green site is to use smart materials instead of the traditional ones that were previously used in mobile terminals. For instance, reverting to FRP in manufacturing leads to minimizing steel sections up to 95%, which results in minimal pollution to the environment. Moreover, it is smarter to use integrated Radio Access Network (RAN) equipment, which has bandwidth carrier dynamic shutdown and time domain deep code shutdown, which will reduce power consumption by about 24 % in a low traffic period.