The GSM Association will team up with Indian carrier Idea Cellular and Ericsson in the trial of biofuels to power cellular networks in rural India. The group said it has set up a pilot in Pune to power mobile base stations that are off the electricity grid. The GSMA says the trial is nearing the end of the first phase, which involves testing the feasibility of non-edible plant-based fuels, such as cotton and jatropha.
Phase two will involve setting up a supply chain using locally-grown crops to produce biodiesel to power up to ten base stations in the Maharashtra region. The goal is to have these base stations running on cotton or jatropha by mid-2007.