Motorola unveils new design for WiMAX base stations to tackle major building and powering expenses

The business opportunity represented by WiMAX is growing exponentially with the WiMAX Forum pinpointing 2009 as a tipping point for the technology: It is expected that the number of people with access to WiMAX services to almost double from 430m to 800m across 135 countries where the technology is deployed.

The new WiMAX base station design presents a great opportunity for Motorola to discuss with operators how they can reduce overheads by cutting the build and power consumption costs of WiMAX base station sites.

"There has been an increasing concern from customers looking to Motorola for answers about how to reduce costs without impacting end user services," said Walid Al Salman, Territory Business Unit Manager Oman, Qatar and the UAE, Motorola Home & Networks Mobility Services, EMEA & Asia Pacific.

"As we work alongside customers to build the WiMAX footprint, it's clear from customer and market feedback that we must continue to drive down WiMAX capital spending operational costs as far as possible, while also maintaining environmental sustainability,"

added Al-Salman.

Presenting at the Global Green Telecom Summit taking place on 3 November in Dubai, Walid Al Salman will address the topic of how WiMAX technologies will contribute to a greener society.

Build costs for the new designs are 35 percent lower than traditional base stations and power consumption is reduced by a striking 60 percent. In addition, driven by a combination of solar and power generators, Motorola estimates that maintenance and power costs for a hybrid site over a five-year period are $157,774. This compares to a maintenance cost of $228,098 for a shelter based, WiMAX base station driven by two generators.

And at a time when the Middle East is at the forefront of developing and improving its reputation as a leader in environmental sustainability, with initiatives such as the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) being housed in Abu Dhabi, Motorola is integrating new developments to improve environmental concerns in its Middle East operations. The environmental benefits of the new WiMAX base designs help minimize carbon emissions and reduce power consumption.

Statistics have shown that by 2014, over 230,000 cellular base stations in developing countries will be solar-powered or wind-powered, and the number of off-grid base stations is growing at 30 percent per year.