T-Mobile Prepares for 2012 Hurricane Season
Jun 07, 2012 (Close-Up Media via COMTEX) -- T-Mobile USA, Inc., said it is preparing for the 2012 hurricane season, which officially started June 1.In a release, the company said that it has implemented frequent engineering drills coupled with network fortification and crisis management coordination focused on the locations where hurricanes have the greatest propensity of making landfall, including the entire Eastern Seaboard and Gulf Coast areas of the United States.
"T-Mobile has a long history of moving swiftly in emergency situations to ensure our customers can stay connected when they need it most," said Bentley Alexander, VP, South Region Engineering, T-Mobile USA. "We have made significant investments in supplemental cell site backup generators, microwave technology equipment and cell-on-wheels (COWs), along with other tools and equipment to enhance the stability and, when necessary, the recovery of our network operations. At the same time, our engineers and our cross-functional crisis management teams - our people - play the most critical role for network and service continuity and recovery. We continue to focus on emergency response procedures and drills that will ensure we are ready for the 2012 Hurricane season." The company noted its National Engineering Response and Crisis Management teams constantly monitor weather patterns and potential storms. In advance of any major hurricane forecasted to make U.S. landfall, T-Mobile establishes an engineering Command Center near the area where the storm's impact is expected, creating a home base for engineers and rapid response teams, and a staging area for equipment and supplies that may be needed during the aftermath of the storm. As soon as it is safe, T-Mobile technicians and engineers are mobilized to support and assist any network restoration.
T-Mobile Network Operation Centers (NOCs) manage network traffic during any event, and the company has redundant support in place for each NOC, the company added.
T-Mobile said it takes the following additional steps to prepare the company's network for major weather-related events: -In the event of widespread power outages, T-Mobile has access to additional fuel to supply generators and company repair and transport vehicles, and for other emergency circumstances.
-Backup generators and fuel tanks for regional network switch operations are put in place and tested, and fuel is topped off for all generators in the potential path of a storm. T-Mobile recently purchased 1,000 additional small mobile generators to assist with backup power when needed. These units are now being delivered to local markets and regional depots.
-To further supplement fixed and portable backup generators, T-Mobile is prepared to place dozens more portable generators, ready to be transported to impacted areas.
-Microwave radio equipment is readied to be trucked into affected areas to facilitate back-haul or data communication from the cell sites to T-Mobile's network switches, as backup, in the event that fixed-line service fails.
-T-Mobile pre-stages COWs in neighboring markets to move in and provide additional wireless communications capacity in the hardest-hit areas.
-T-Mobile monitors evacuation efforts and routes, and takes steps to increase wireless capacity in those areas as customers move inland.
-The company also coordinates closely with the recovery efforts of local, state and federal agencies.
-T-Mobile has crisis plans in place for employees who may also be in the path of a storm, and responds quickly to help safeguard our employees and our facilities.
T-Mobile's Persistent Communications solution combines the company's Wi-Fi Calling for Business or Wi-Fi Calling for Government solutions with access to satellite services for back-haul connectivity.
T-Mobile USA is a U.S. wireless operation of Deutsche Telekom AG.
More information:
www.T-Mobile.com
((Comments on this story may be sent to newsdesk@closeupmedia.com))
Telecom industry aims to reduce diesel consumption - Livemint.com
New Delhi: Some five years ago, India’s telecom industry overtook the railways briefly as the country’s largest consumer of diesel, estimated at more than 2 billion litres a year, according to a 2011 report by the environmental group Greenpeace.
“This translates to an operational energy expense for the telecommunication sector of Rs 6,500 crore, apart from other infrastructural costs, to operate their network towers, especially in off-grid locations,” the Greenpeace report said. “In turn, this constitutes around 30% of the sector’s revenue from off-grid services.”
The report said the Indian telecom sector was responsible for 5.2 million tonnes of CO2 emissions (out of 13 million tonnes overall) annually and responsible for over 2% of the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions.
Fuel concerns: India has about 350,000 telecom towers and spends about Rs 8,500 crore a year on diesel, says a report by a consulting firm. (Pradeep Gaur/Mint)
According to a report by consulting firm AT Kearney, India has about 350,000 telecom towers and spends Rs 8,500 crore a year on diesel. One-fifth, about 70,000, are not connected to the power grid. The industry is seeking to reduce its dependence on the fuel.These costs, coupled with tighter margins, are forcing stakeholders in the Indian telecom sector to innovate on revenue streams. For tower companies, the need to cut costs is becoming important as challenges multiply. Business potential has taken a knock with the cancellation of 122 telecom licences by the Supreme Court on 2 February.
Tower businesses also face unpaid bills by telcos that have lost licences, the possibility of having to pay revenue share to the government if they are brought under the unified licence regime and a possible cut in the foreign direct investment limit in the firms to 74%, curtailing investments in the sector. In addition, diesel prices have risen more than 32% since January 2009 to Rs 40.91 a litre.
More than 60% of the towers in India depend solely on diesel for power generation. According to two officials working for tower companies, approximately 15% of the diesel bought is pilfered at some stage.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has directed all tower companies to reduce their dependence on diesel and cut carbon emissions by running at least 50% of all rural towers and 20% of urban towers on hybrid power by 2015.
The Tower and Infrastructure Providers Association (Taipa) grouping has issued a request for proposal (RFP) for renewable energy service providers (Rescos) to work with the tower companies for around 10,000-15,000 towers.
According to the proposal, the biggest challenge for the viability of the Rescos is the lack of scale. Taipa has proposed that tower companies can act as anchor clients for a Resco facility in a certain rural area. It can provide energy to the neighbouring area and tower companies, which can provide a certain amount of revenue assurance by addressing the cost-price deficit.
“Around 33% of the country is electrified, the cost of which is around Rs 6-8 per unit. We use diesel generators that cost around Rs 18 per unit. If the Rescos set up plants in the 150,000 villages across the country and generate around 30 kilowatts (kW) and we use around 15-20kW, the remainder can be used by the rest of the village,” said a senior executive at one of the larger tower companies, requesting anonymity as he is not authorized to speak to the media.
The electricity generated for a base station can be used by common service centres or automated teller machines (ATMs). The tower companies have conducted pilot projects and shown proof of concept but there are a number of hurdles in the way of wide deployment. “There are multiple regulation issues, especially if the power generated is shared or distributed,”the official said. Also to be determined is whether such an initiative would be covered under the Electricity Act.
Many tower companies currently use renewable energy sources such as solar, biogas and wind besides hydroelectric power, for individual towers. But this has more disadvantages than advantages. Apart from the cost, which is Rs 20 lakh per tower, there are issues such as having to keep the solar panels clean for efficient usage. The weather, too, has to be taken into account; in most places, sunlight is available for an average 300 days a year. These problems get reduced significantly with the shared Resco off-grid model. While surplus power can be sold to the electricity grid, by distributing the power in the area, the Rescos and tower companies can earn credits (similar to carbon credits) that can be sold at a later time.
Apart from the industry associations, companies are trying their best to reduce costs and their dependence on diesel.
Indus Towers Ltd, considered the world’s largest telecom-tower company, said on 14 March that it would be replacing diesel generators with batteries in 20,000 of its 110,000 towers by next year.
The move came after the company had stopped using diesel for power back-up in 5,000 towers, saving 3.6 million litres of the fuel a year. Indus is a joint venture that involves Bharti Airtel Ltd, Vodafone India Ltd and Idea Cellular Ltd.
Bharti Airtel, India’s largest telecom service provider, has been testing and implementing various options for the last two-three years. The e-bill initiative is estimated to save as many as 24,000 trees a year, the company’s internal newsletter said. Bharti Airtel sends around two million bills by email every month, avoiding paper.
Bharti Infratel, also of the Bharti group and one of the largest tower companies in India, generates as much as 5 million units of solar power every year. The company’s Green Towers P7 project, launched in 2007, aims to reduce diesel consumption by around 58 million litres per year through a comprehensive energy management plan. Under the project, Infratel has so far deployed renewable sources of energy at around 1,250 tower sites leading to annual savings of 6.9 million litres of diesel and around Rs 28 crore.
“Alternative energy sources like solar etc. are clean energy solutions and have today proven their case as a strong alternate to conventional sources of energy. These, however, are still expensive options to procure and deploy,” the newsletter said.
Under the P7 project, Infratel has employed an integrated power management system and variable speed DC generators at 3,500 sites reducing annual diesel consumption by 1.2 million litres and almost Rs 5 crore. Infratel also has installed free cooling units, instead of air conditioners, at 5,200 tower sites, leading to annual savings of 4.1 million litres of diesel.
shauvik.g@livemint.com
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