Econet is installing hundreds of batteries to keep its telecoms running, the lifeblood of a country where all transactions are done digitally
02 September 2019 - 12:02
byAntony Sguazzin
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Zimbabweans are relying on Tesla to help them pay their bills.
Amid power outages of as long as 18 hours a day, Econet Wireless, Zimbabwe’s biggest cellphone operator, is turning to the Palo Alto, California-based carmaker and storable-energy company for batteries that can keep its base stations running.
The southern African country faces chronic shortages of physical cash, so almost all transactions are done digitally, and many via cellphones.
“Telecommunications have become the lifeblood of the economy,” said Norman Moyo, the CEO of Distributed Power Africa, which installs the batteries for Econet. “If the telecom network is down in Zimbabwe, you can’t do any transactions.”
The installation of 520 Powerwall batteries, with two going into each base station, is the largest telecommunications project in which Tesla has participated to date, Moyo said.
With Econet having about 1,300 base stations in the country and two other cellphone companies operating there, Distributed Power intends to install more batteries and could eventually roll the project out to other power-starved countries in Africa, such as Zambia, Lesotho and the Democratic Republic of Congo, he said.
Base stations in Zimbabwe often use diesel-fired generators as backup, but fuel is also scarce in the country. The Powerwalls, which cost $6,500 each, will step in when solar panels are not generating enough electricity because it’s night or when heavily overcast.
The lithium-ion batteries can power a station for as long as 10 hours, according to Econet. They are charged by the sun.
Tesla is working with a number of telecommunications companies around the world and sees a combination of solar panels and battery storage as a good opportunity to expand its business in countries and areas where electricity supply is erratic or non-existent, a company spokesperson said.
Econet’s mobile-money system Ecocash has 6.7-million active users in a country of 14-million people. It is used for everything from buying groceries to tipping waiters.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
How Zimbabwe is banking on Tesla
Econet is installing hundreds of batteries to keep its telecoms running, the lifeblood of a country where all transactions are done digitally
Zimbabweans are relying on Tesla to help them pay their bills.
Amid power outages of as long as 18 hours a day, Econet Wireless, Zimbabwe’s biggest cellphone operator, is turning to the Palo Alto, California-based carmaker and storable-energy company for batteries that can keep its base stations running.
The southern African country faces chronic shortages of physical cash, so almost all transactions are done digitally, and many via cellphones.
“Telecommunications have become the lifeblood of the economy,” said Norman Moyo, the CEO of Distributed Power Africa, which installs the batteries for Econet. “If the telecom network is down in Zimbabwe, you can’t do any transactions.”
The installation of 520 Powerwall batteries, with two going into each base station, is the largest telecommunications project in which Tesla has participated to date, Moyo said.
With Econet having about 1,300 base stations in the country and two other cellphone companies operating there, Distributed Power intends to install more batteries and could eventually roll the project out to other power-starved countries in Africa, such as Zambia, Lesotho and the Democratic Republic of Congo, he said.
Base stations in Zimbabwe often use diesel-fired generators as backup, but fuel is also scarce in the country. The Powerwalls, which cost $6,500 each, will step in when solar panels are not generating enough electricity because it’s night or when heavily overcast.
The lithium-ion batteries can power a station for as long as 10 hours, according to Econet. They are charged by the sun.
Tesla is working with a number of telecommunications companies around the world and sees a combination of solar panels and battery storage as a good opportunity to expand its business in countries and areas where electricity supply is erratic or non-existent, a company spokesperson said.
Econet’s mobile-money system Ecocash has 6.7-million active users in a country of 14-million people. It is used for everything from buying groceries to tipping waiters.
Bloomberg
Zimbabwe to issue new currency to counter cash shortage
Zimbabwe: a powerless state
Eskom exports ease Zimbabwe’s power crisis
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Most Read
Related Articles
Elon Musk visits China and averts 10% tax on car sales
Tesla to buy batteries from South Korea’s LG Chem
Zimbabwe commences R13m a week payments to Eskom to ease power crisis
Cash-strapped Zimbabwe to make cannabis main export
Zimbabwe government hikes electricity tariffs by up to 500%
Published by Arena Holdings and distributed with the Financial Mail on the last Thursday of every month except December and January.