The largest mobile operator in Armenia, VivaCell-MTS has launched two base stations that uses solar power on a 12-km-long area of the Mastara-Maralik road of Yerevan-Gyumri highway of strategic importance. The thinly populated area had not had reliable mobile communication because of the absence of power supply. VivaCell-MTS said that its strategy of providing reliable 2G/3G network coverage in thinly populated areas and on highways of strategic importance is not based on the return-on-investment principle and the desire to reduce operational expenses, but to provide continuous coverage.
Throughout 2015, VivaCell-MTS continued the coverage expansion and network strengthening works across Armenia with 80 new 2G/3G mobile base stations. In addition, the operator has expanded its 4G LTE coverage to additional towns, bringing its total base stations to 255 to cover close to 47% of the population.
VivaCell-MTS General Manager Ralph Yirikian
As a business operation, we aim at increasing the share of renewable energy in the production value chain. The outcome is two-fold: we reduce the cost of production and, at the same time, reduce the consumption of electricity supply received from traditional sources. It has been proven that the use of alternative energy contributes to the competitive advantage, in addition to strong environmental imperative, more than salient issue in Armenia.