Founded in 1976, Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat) is the leading full-service provider in the UAE. Etisalat has set up high quality telecom networks providing innovative and reliable telecom services for the Middle East and other regions in the world. In recent years, Etisalat shifts its focus to oversea markets. It has successfully run networks in countries outside the UAE, like Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Afghanistan, Tanzania, and Egypt. Etisalat won Egypt's third mobile license. In April 2007, it launched the first 3.5G network and achieved bursting development.

Challenges faced by Etisalat

Egypt is located in the northeast of Africa and is a traffic junction and strategic location of Europe, Asia, and Africa. The economic development in Egypt is unbalanced. The north and the south are uneven, and the countryside falls behind the cities. The development of the telecom market is the same story. Some remote areas are not covered by any communications network.

As the first 3.5G operator, Etisalat planned to cover the entire Egypt with its network by the end of 2008, including big cities like Cairo, Alexandria, Zagazig, and Tanta and the uninhabited areas. Many of the radio sites need to be deployed in remote areas where the introduction of mains supply is difficult, while the traditional double-diesel-generator solution is expensive and unreliable. In the long run, the fuel consumption and generator maintenance account for a large proportion of the OPEX.

This is a heavy burden to the new comer in communication market of Egypt. In addition, site constructions in tourism spots are under Egyptian government's strict control. The traditional diesel generator solution makes it very difficult to get granted.

This hindered the fast and wide network expansion of Etisalat. Etisalat, therefore, had been wrestling with the problem of covering the valued areas in these edge networks.

Etisalat deployed the first solar-powered BTS in Egypt

The first solar-powered BTS built by Etisalat in Egypt is located in Ras Mohamed National Park, Sinai, a city blessed with adequate sunshine and located by the Red Sea. It is a protected tourism spot, which attracts many tourists every day. Sinai is considered a valued area of edge network coverage. But this site is remote and surrounded by desert. It is very difficult to introduce mains supply there. As a tourism spot, the government imposes very strict environmental requirements on the site construction. For example, with the traditional double-diesel-generator solution, which is fuel-consuming, high OPEX, and emits much harmful gas, an operator will have no chance to be granted with a license. After comparison and contrast of various factors, Huawei recommended a solar energy solution for that site. The solution uses the Huawei BTS3006C, which features low power consumption and wide coverage.

In this solution, the solar panels product power that is mainly supplied the load, and the extra energy can be stored in storage batteries. This solution makes full use of the rich solar energy resource in the local area and avoids environmental pollution. It helps operator get the site construction permission. In addition, this solution is based on modular and carrier-grate reliability design, which greatly reduces the site inspection and maintenance, and thus reducing the TCO and bringing a green site.

The successful deployment of the solar-powered site in Ras Mohamed National

Park solved the problem of constructing a site in a scenario lack of mains and with inconvenient transportation and strict environmental requirements. Although the deployment of the solar-powered site is restricted by some factors such as the terrain and the sunshine intensity, the Ras Mohamed National Park site is proved to be stable and reliable, and all data meet the requirement for large-scale commercial launch.
Especially, 90% of the entire Egypt is desert and Gobi, where the solar energy is rich.

The annual average peak sunshine duration is longer than 4.73 hours. This guarantees the nationwide application of the solar-powered solution and the subsequent expansion.

Ahmd, a tourist to Ras Mohamed National Park, visited Huawei's solar with curiosity and commented, "When the next time I visit here, it will be easier and cheaper for me to make calls to my family and friends. The solar energy panels make the tourism spots seem clean and eco-friendly."

Long-lasting partnership between Etisalat and Huawei

The cooperation between Huawei and Etisalat can be backdated to 2003, when Huawei played solo to construct the first 3G network in the Middle East and North Africa. In 2006, Etisalat won Egypt’s third mobile license and awarded Huawei with a significant Turnkey project, which covers site construction permission obtainment, site construction, wireless network launch, network management, and service operation. In 2008, Etisalat chose Huawei to build a nationwide GPON FTTH commercial network. That year, Etisalat Misr also used Huawei's green, low-TCO, and reliable site solution to construct sites in remote areas.

Today, the issue of environment protection is gaining more and more attention.

Huawei's solar-powered solution helps operators not only cut the expenditure but also accomplish the environmental and social duties. While enhancing the social image, the operators can also quickly deploy sites, expand coverage, and increase subscribers, thus helping the people in remote areas communicate with the world.