Rising heatwave could set AC costs of telecom towers soaring
air-conditioning costs at telecom tower installations, crucial for ensuring uninterrupted operations of base stations for 24x7 mobile connectivity, industry executives and analysts said.
They added that power and fuel costs of telecom operators could potentially rise if heatwave conditions persist for the next one month as any change in energy costs is typically passed on to telcos by tower companies.
Industry experts cautioned the current scenario could also lead to a slowdown in tower network expansions in the near term, even though Indian tower companies are used to working in hot weather conditions.
«If the intense heatwave conditions don't ease anytime soon, causing a serious rise in ambient temperature, telcos could face around a 3-5% increase in power and fuel costs towards effective air-conditioning of active infrastructure elements (read: mobile base stations) in telecom towers, especially to ensure there are no connectivity/coverage hiccups,» said Mohit Rana, a telecom expert who has worked closely with tower companies and is now partner at Red Seer Strategy Consultants, told ET.
Power and fuel, used for running telecom towers, comprise 45-55% of a telco's annual network operating cost, of which diesel makes up about a third at pan-India level. Network operating cost make up about 20-24% of sales of a telco.
Diesel forms part of a telco's energy bill that includes electricity costs (for grid support) and battery costs.
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