Leading telecom operators in the region are set to participate in a major forum in Doha which will look to tackle the problems of climate change driven by high levels of energy consumption and greenhouse emissions.

The Qtel Group, Telesol, Milicom, MTN, Zain and Vodafone, as well as technology leaders including General Electric, Eletek, Ameresco Solar and ictQatar, will take part in the GSMA Green Power for Mobile Regional Working Group, to be held on April 18 and 19 at the Ritz Carlton Doha.

Global warming is a serious problem for the world, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has reported that greenhouse gas emissions must be halved no later than by the middle of this century.

The communications industry is an increasingly significant contributor to the global consumption of energy, particular as mobile Broadband use places higher power demands on each cell site, and there is greater use of mobile communications and data centres around the world.

In Qatar, Qtel was the first company to deploy solar-powered, eco-friendly Base Station sites as early as 2005, while Indosat in Indonesia has deployed more than 100 solar-powered sites to date, and has plans to deploy significantly more in the near term.

Paul Salmon, chief technology officer, Qtel Group, said: “Qtel Group aims to enrich people’s lives, and working to protect the environment plays a major role in the process. We have already made real progress in integrating eco-friendly and high energy efficient technology throughout our regional networks, and we are eager to share our insights with other companies to help make a difference in the developing world.”

“As well as delivering the positive environmental effects of moving away towards efficient energy solutions, the new investment will enable us to reduce expenditure on fuel and power in the medium term, which will contribute to our wider cost optimisation programme,” he added.

The GSMA Development Fund launched the “Green Power for Mobile Programme” in September 2008, in partnership with the International Finance Corporation to promote the development of renewable energies for mobile telecom networks.

This project aims to encourage the mobile industry to use renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind or sustainable bio-fuels, to power new and existing off-grid base stations in developing countries. – TradeArabia News Service