Indian firm unveils "Zero Opex" GSM network

Sunil Batra

Barcelona, Feb 18 (PTI) India Wednesday awed the world
when a homegrown company Vihaan Network Ltd launched a "zero
opex" GSM system, enabling telecom operators to offer mobile
services at much lower rates than existing tariffs and still
make profits.

The network in terms of one base station could cost less
than 10,000 dollars (about Rs five lakh) compared to an
estimated cost of over Rs 50 lakh from the traditional network
vendors.

Vihaan Network Ltd (VNL), promoted by Rajiv Mehrotra
of the Shyam Group, unveiled the world's first solar-powered
GSM system specially designed to enable mobile operators in
the developing world to reach remote rural areas without
compromising on their commercial interests.

VNL has spent the last five years re-engineering the
complete end-to-end GSM system consisting of MSC, BSC, BTS,
power System & Microwave Backhaul to overcome these
challenges, Mehrotra said

The use of solar power not only drastically reduces
operating expenses for mobile operators but also is cleaner
from the environment point of view, he added.

The combined power consumption of the top five mobile
operators in India is more than 5,000 MW per day. According to
VNL's projections, traditional mobile networks in India alone
require two billion litres of diesel every year to power
back-up diesel generators.

"We have overcome all the challenges of providing GSM
networks in rural areas. Now operators have a truly viable way
to build profitable networks to connect the next billion
mobile users," says Anil Raj, CEO of VNL.

"VNL's world GSM uses solar power as its single energy
source and no diesel generators are required. It is made for
simple delivery and deployment by local workers -- all
resulting in zero operational cost and near zero maintenance,"
Raj said.

Asked whether the company would require subsidy from the
Universal Service Obligation (USO) Fund, a kitty to help
mobile operators to go to rural areas, Rajiv Mehrotra said,
"Without the help of the government the project would not have
been possible and we are looking forward for continued support
from them."

VNL's network got praise from world's leading GSM
operators, especially from India, including Sunil Mittal of
Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone, and also Telecom Secretary
Siddartha Behura & USO Administartor Ajay Bhattacharya

Asked whether VNL's system would be compatible with the
existing network of Airtel, Vodafone or others, Raj said the
system operates on the existing GSM frequencies of 900 and
1800 MHz and it is compatible with all the networks in terms
of coverage as well roaming.

Raj said the company's target is to make the network
cheaper by at least 50 per cent than the existing system with
virtually no maintenance cost. PTI