VNL Flaunts $15,000 BTS to Shore up ARPU

Solar-powered base station, a groundbreaking innovation particularly useful now in the middle of the free falling average revenue per user (ARPU) will be widely available in the country in the coming months, thanks to VNL, an Indian company which is about to ink a local deal in Nigeria, Nigeria CommunicationsWeek has learnt.
At just $15,000 for the VNL base station instead of $100,000 for the traditional base station, the new solution is expected to help operators access their customers’ revenue potentials.
ARPU has fallen from a high of about $46 to less than $10 over the last seven years leaving operators with compulsory choice of cost saving measures to underpin their hemorrhaging fortunes.
Bridget Fishleigh, publicist of VNL told Nigeria CommunicationsWeek that VNL’s solar-powered base station can be used to bring cellphone services to remote villages.
The VNL is expected to strike a cord with Nigerian operators as mobile-phone service can deliver huge benefits to the populace but getting cellphone coverage to remote, especially rural parts hindered by high installation and operating costs.
According to Fishleigh, VNL is looking to overcome this obstacle with a low-power cellular base station that requires little capital expense and has almost no operating costs. The base stations can be powered by a small solar panel in daylight; batteries provide backup power for up to 72 hours.
The solution was inspired by the Scandinavian retailer, Ikea. The entire base station comes delivered in six boxes, small enough to all fit in an ox cart. Simple illustrated instructions show how to put the pieces together using colour-coded cables.