Vodafone partners with KTL to support the go-live of its first ‘self-powering’ mobile phone mast

Vodafone in partnership with Crossflow Energy and Cornerstone has switched on its first wind- and -solar-powered mobile mast providing 4G coverage in Pembrokeshire, Wales.

KTL’s role in this ground-breaking site for Vodafone involved:

• Initial de-installation of Huawei BTS equipment, while construction work took place on-site.

• Installation, commissioning, and integration of the BTS (Base Transceiver Station) equipment.

• Moving the microwave transmission equipment installed on-site to a new location, enabling battery autonomy not previously offered - ensuring optimum resilience.

This deployment supports Vodafone’s target of achieving net-zero for its UK operations by 2027 and its Race to Zero by 2040. It is a possible solution to cover ‘not-spots’ in remote and rural areas for the operator.

The trial is located at Home Farm in the village of Eglwyswrw and will run over a two-year period. This will provide sufficient time for Vodafone to gather data, optimise technology and understand which sites will be suitable for ‘self-powering’ masts.

Dom Mackinnon, Technical Manager, KTL Group said, “Work on this clean energy site involved supporting the build and ensuring it went live on the proposed date. Our highly skilled team, proven technical expertise and rapid response within such short notice enabled us to deliver this site competently and on time.”

“These self-powering masts will reduce the environmental impact of the site as wind will be the primary source of power, supplemented by solar. There is a contingency backup power connection to the ‘grid’ but will act as an emergency backup only in circumstances where both wind and solar provide insufficient power.”

“They will support Vodafone’s Shared Rural Network (SRN) targets and will potentially enable the deployment of new mobile sites in the most remote, rural locations – ‘not spots’, without the challenge and cost associated with connecting to the electricity grid.”

Steve Foster, Design Authority, Standards & Solutions said, “It was an absolute pleasure to have KTL help Vodafone with the active element of the Decommission, Recommission & Integration part of this project.”

“Then to enable our Microwave server to be moved later on to ensure continuous Network Availability and further power reductions.”

“This project has been quite a task for all involved, and having KTL be flexible around the changes that occurred during the build was greatly appreciated. As a result, you enabled this site to be back on-air whilst all the other Wind/Solar enablement works were continuing. Obviously, a great response to reducing our overall outage. KTL is always trusted when needed,” said Foster.

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