Is provision of community power services a CSR exercise to generate brand warmth, or is there a commercially viable business model extension here for MNOs, tower operators and RESCO partners? TowerXchange reports from the Energy + Mobile for Development session at Mobile World Congress, where Bharti Infratel, Vodafone, OMC Power and Fenix International shared their experiences deploying community power solutions in rural India and Africa.
“The mobile industry has built three million towers worldwide – including one of the largest off-grid energy developments the world has even seen,” said Chris Locke, Managing Director of the GSMA’s Mobile for Development Group, opening the Energy + Mobile for Development session at Mobile World Congress, and inaugurating the GSMA’s new Mobile Enabled Community Services programme.