Wind, Solar & Biofuels to Power Remote Cell Towers

tcd004 writes "How do you set up a cell network when there's no power grid? Namibia, India and Nigeria are building towers using localized power sources to provide critical cell phone access to the most remote parts of their countries. Wind/solar hybrids, and biofuel power plants will power the radio towers, peripheral communications, and even the protective fencing around the installations."

Comments

Can't be done - and you already know why.

[mmell]

Consider - in Namibia and Nigeria, I doubt there is much of a paying customer base to pay for installation and upkeep of such facilities; and I'll wager that in India, the towers under discussions are meant to serve areas of the country with little of interest to commercial providers. They need a system of towers which they can install, configure and walk away from. Doubtless the governments of the respective countries are directly involved in the planning, implementation and financing of the towers in question; hence their drive to have an efficient, self-sufficient implementation.

Here in the US, if somebody wants something, they'd better damned well be ready to pay for it. Here, "you gets what you pays for!". Now, if Cellulite-1 (or whoever) decides to put a tower up, you can bet it'll be the classic sort which requires power and periodic maintainance to remain operational; expenses which will not only be passed along to the consumer, but which will be passed along at a profit! If the cell towers generate their own electricity, there's that much less expense to make a profit on.

Yes, it seems counterintuitive, but why develop a technology which costs less to implement if that technology is going to cut into your bottom line? Current, technologies with a lower TCO provide less profit than conventional technologies.