India’s Vihaan Networks Limited (VNL) bagged GSMA’s ‘2010 Award for “Green Mobile - Best Green Programme Product or Initiative”

"Three billion people are not covered by a network. Most of these people live in areas without electricity. Our zero OPEX, solar powered GSM base stations will help mobile operators reach them affordably. Thank you to the GSMA for acknowledging our mission,” said Rajiv Mehrotra, Founder, Chairman & CEO of VNL.

VNL’s zero-opex solar-powered WorldGSM™ base station – developed specifically for use in rural areas where people have less than US$2 a month to spend on their phone bills was shortlisted in both the ‘best network innovation’ and the ‘best green programme, product or initiative’ categories.

VNL claims that its solution is the only one designed to build sustainable telephone networks for the three billion people (half the world’s population) who live in rural areas not covered by a mobile network. Of this number, some 1.6 billion people have no electricity and another one billion live in areas with unreliable access to power (GSMA figures).

The new Award adds to the company’s list of global awards including “Fast 50: The World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies”, Technology Pioneer 2010 by The World Economic Forum, Wall Street Journal’s annual Technology Innovation Awards, 2009 Top Pick and named as a company to watch in the wireless infrastructure market by Light Reading.