There are biofuel-powered cars, stoves and central heating systems. Why not a biofuel-powered cellular network? At least those are Ericsson's thoughts. It has developed a “green” macro base station powered completely by biomass. The base station is targeted at rural areas in developing countries that have no access to the main electrical grid, making it more a practical project than an environmental one.

But Ericsson said the environmental implications of such a base station architecture shouldn't be taken lightly. It's one of the first steps this vendor — and the rest of the wireless industry — are taking to create a greener cellular network.

Biofuel makes use of organic materials, from seeds to animal waste, to create a renewable biodiesel fuel as an alternative to conventional petroleum-based diesel. Since the fuel is derived from crops and organic wastes, it is, in theory, endlessly renewable unlike petroleum or coal-based fuels, which exist in increasingly shorter supplies. The fuel is cleaner burning, producing fewer harmful emissions than conventional diesel and is biodegradable, meaning it is relatively harmless to the environment when spilled.

Earth-friendly reasons aside, however, the practical element to using biofuel has attracted the interest of carriers worldwide, particularly in underdeveloped markets. In a trial in Nigeria that Ericsson is conducting with the GSM Association and pan-African GSM provider MTN, more than 70% of the carrier's base station sites are outside of the electrical grid, meaning they have to be powered by generators, said Johan Burgendaul, vice president of marketing for Ericsson.

As Nigeria is one of the largest oil producers in the world, getting conventional diesel to those sites doesn't seem like a problem. But the country is an exporter of unrefined oil and has little to no petroleum refining facilities of its own. It has to import refined diesel and transport it to the individual cell sites, a costly logistical nightmare. In a country where average customer revenue comes in at less than $5 per month, any cost savings are important, Burgendaul said.

“What if that fuel could be made locally?” he asked. “Moving from traditional diesel to biodiesel minimizes the possibility of accident and has more positive effects on the environment. At the same time, it allows an operator to extend its coverage.”

The MTN pilot project will use locally grown groundnuts, pumpkin seeds, jatropha and palm oil to manufacture the biodiesel necessary to power special generators linked to the base stations. That scale of project, however, requires much more operational support than the typical network deployment. Farmers must be contracted to grow the crops on a large scale, and workers must be hired to convert the biomass into biodiesel at the base station site. According to Ericsson, the amount of biodiesel generated by palm oil, one of the more efficient forms of biomass, would require cultivation of 80 soccer fields of agriculture to run a network of 20 base stations for a year.

Ericsson and its carrier customers aren't launching any agricultural divisions, though. In most cases, they are working with agricultural and alternative energy partners to supply the fuel and logistics for the new networks, spurring additional economic growth in those markets. Furthermore, in many of the areas where a biofuel-powered base station would be used, it would be the only electricity source for miles around, creating the opportunity for community partnerships, where a base station biofuel generator could supply power to the surrounding area — giving the local populace a way, among other things, to charge their cell phones.