Telecom operator Bharti Airtel has migrated over 40,000 of its network sites across India to green technology in sync with its commitment towards green network initiatives. More than 40,000 of these green network sites are designed to operate largely on battery-hybrid, lithium-ion and solar hybrid solutions with very little diesel consumption. Apart from these measures, Airtel maintains strict adherence to Indian Emission Norms along with its own safeguards that ensures emissions from its network sites are safe, a company statement said.
Under ‘Project Leap’, it has plans to bring down its carbon footprint emission by 70% by 2018. The company has already installed roof top solar power capacity base of 770 KWp and plans to increase this capacity to 1 MWp in coming months and enhancing renewable energy wheeling by solar/wind/hydro on core sites - thereby consuming > 65 GWH/Annum of green energy.
It is also investing heavily into radio technology that will help optimise both power and space. Of the total network installed base, 60% has been deployed on a zero footprint architecture with no air conditioning thereby reducing dependency on diesel.
Gopal Vittal, MD & CEO, Bharti Airtel (India & South Asia), said, “As a responsible corporate we are concerned about the environment and have undertaken a host of initiatives to promote the use of greener technology. We are committed to bringing down the carbon emission by 70% and are taking all measures including bringing in state-of-art technology and partnering with the best globally. We have maintained strict adherence to Indian emission norms along with our company safeguard policy - thereby ensuring that emissions from network sites are safer than those from the light bulbs we use at homes. This is an important step towards our commitment to build a future ready and sustainable network.”
Besides, the company has adopted a range of innovative methods like reducing power consumption by switching off unused capacity of its network sites during lean periods. It is also reducing power consumption and air wave emissions by optimising signal transmission between the network and the device.
"We plan to adopt solar and new battery technologies in a big way and double our green network sites by 2020. With a strategic focus on creating a green network, we remain committed to learning from the telecom industry's best practices from across the globe. We are confident that our green measures will work towards speeding up the development of a clean, safe and future ready network that will deliver a world-class service experience for our customers - now, and for years to come", added Vittal.
