MTN Cameroon Goes Green with Solar-Powered Base Stations

The MTN Group is a leading South African-based mobile operator with operations in 21 countries throughout Africa and the Middle East. MTN has a presence in countries such as Nigeria, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, and Iran. With a subscriber base of more than 4 million, MTN Cameroon—an important subsidiary of the African MTN Group—is the number one Multinational Telecom Operator (MTO) in the country.

However, as the company has expanded, the high costs of generating power with diesel generators have become a significant burden for MTN Cameroon. High-consumption diesel generators have also produced considerable amounts of pollutants that are harmful to the surrounding environment. MTN Cameroon has therefore long sought a renewable energy solution to this problem.

Challenges for MTN Cameroon

Slow business growth: In the urban and rural areas of Cameroon, the economy is unevenly developed—as is the telecom market. Some remote areas do not even have wireless signal coverage, which results in sluggish growth of mobile services in these areas.

Environmental pollution: Shortage of electricity is a serious problem affecting most African regions, and Cameroon is no exception. The majority of telecom operators in the country use diesel generators for power supply. In their daily consumption of fuel for power production, diesel generators emit a variety of pollutants—including particle matter, carbon monoxide, and hydrocarbons―all of which threaten human health and the environment. As a leading mobile operator in Cameroon, and with the largest market share, MTN Cameroon is committed to environmental protection. They hope to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and power consumption in order to improve the quality of life for local inhabitants.

High maintenance costs: Regular and frequent maintenance of diesel generators located in remote sites raises the costs (both in time and money) of sending personnel on business trips. Moreover, the price of oil continues to soar without any sign of letting up. This has contributed to the high operational and maintenance cost of diesel generators. The MTN Group has therefore required its Cameroon operations to greatly reduce the capacity of their diesel generators in order to cut down on network operating expenditure.

ZTE’s Solar-Powered Solution

Green power is important in ensuring a clean living environment for people. After many technical discussions and field tests, MTN Cameroon chose ZTE’s green solar-powered solution to address the issue of energizing mobile base stations while minimizing environmental pollution.

Green solar-powered site: ZTE has developed a customized solar-powered solution that consists of highly efficient solar panels, field-proven and reliable controllers, and a highly-protected outdoor cabinet. This not only reduces diesel consumption, but also limits air and noise pollution that arises from generators running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. ZTE’s solar energy solution takes into full account local climate, makes good use of abundant sunshine, and adopts a modular and reliable solar system design to significantly reduce site costs and realize truly green base station sites.

Space-saving outdoor cabinet: The solar-powered system including controllers and batteries cannot be placed in a shelter with limited space. ZTE has employed an outdoor cabinet with IP55 protection level, in which controllers and batteries can be installed. The outdoor cabinet is economical for MTN Cameroon, and saves on construction time.

Theft proof design and non-attended operation: The high risk of solar panel theft has long frustrated operators in Africa and stymied their attempts to turn to green power. To solve this problem, ZTE used theft-proof screws in its installation design and increased the height of stand bars to 3.5 meters. This guarantees security of solar panels and other components, which is necessary for non-attended operation.

Benefits for MTN Cameroon

All solar-powered sites have run smoothly on the network since they were completed and put into service. Operating expenditure has also been effectively reduced. For its expertise in site deployment, and quality ‘green’ products, ZTE’s project team is now highly regarded by MTN Cameroon: “ZTE’s solar-powered solution has greatly reduced our TCO just as we expected. This consolidated our confidence in widely deploying green solar-powered base station sites and effectively improving our competitiveness,” said Mr. Deffo, manager of power supply. MTN Cameroon has again invited ZTE to bid for the second phase of its solar-powered site construction project.

ZTE’s solar-powered solution not only helped MTN Cameroon save its investments, but also helped it fulfil its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) goals. The solution has expanded wireless coverage and allowed people living in remote areas to enjoy the convenience and benefits of mobile communication.